
E 179 
.B71 
Copy 1 



AS 



Historical and Geographical 



MISCELLAiNY 



OF THE 



UNITKD STAT?E.S 



JESSE W/BONNELL 




a^^ 



ROCIIESTEK, IND. 
PUBLISHED BY JESSE W. BONNELL 



1895 



liv JESSE W. BONNEI-L. 



f 



'^n\ 



Piess of 

TRI COUNTY GAZETTE, 

Mentone, Indiana. 



PREFACE. 

FoK many years I have taken pleasure in collecting 
fragments of information relating to the various peculiar 
features of United States History and Geography. Many of 
these facts, I believe, have never been in ))rint. 

That the publication of these facts may be of special 
service and significance to the student and general reader, I 
have incorporated, by permission, considerable matter from 
other published works. In all such instances, I have drawn 
from absolutely reliable sources. 

It has been found practically impossible, within the 
scale of pages herein contained, to go into the details of 
every tojtic treated; and for this reason the reader is cited to 
authorities, where he may find much of special interest for 
future reading. 

I am under obligation to many publishers, authors, 
State Librarians, Historical Societies, public men, and pro- 
fessional friends for information, suggestions and courteous 
favors. Following is given the principal authorities quoted, 
and bibliographic references for future reading; 

The Confederacy of the New England Colonies, 
and its principal purposes may be found in most school 
histories. See Lodge's Short lEstory of the N'ew England 
Colonies; Doyle's English Colonies in America; Howard 
Preston's Dociunents Illustrative of American Jlisturg. 

The Albany Convention and Franklin's Plan of 
a Federal Union. See the larger histories, — ]?ancroft 



iv PREFACE. 

(Hnal edition, N. V., 1880), Hildretli, SclioiiItT, 'riickcr, 
McMaster, lli.li)atli, Lossiiig. No. (' of llie Old South 
LcaHets; Howard Prt'stoirs Dornnieinx. The illustration of 
"Franklin's snake", found on ])age 4, is taken from D. II. 
MontoonuTv's l^tadhnj Facts in Americun Jlistory, by per- 
mission of INIr. Montuomery, and his publishers, Messrs. 
(Tinn & Co. 

The Stamp Act Congress. -The First and Sec- 
ond Continental Congress. — The Declaration of In- 
dependence. — The Articles of Confederation. — The 
Federal Constitution. — See the lar<j;er histories. Fiske's 
Civil Govenu/unt in the United <Stuteff is a delightful little 
hook to read for certain features of this ])eriod; see especial- 
ly Chap. VIII., from which I have quoted by permission of 
Mr. Fiske and his publishers, Messrs. Houghton, MifHin tfc 
Co. See also, Fiske's Critical Period o/ American Ilit^tori/, 
17SS — 1789. The bibliographic notes in Mr. Fi,ske's books 
are of s]»ecial value to young readers. Alexander .Johnson's 
ITistory of American Politics. Bancroft's Jlistort/ of the 
formation of the Con.stitution of the United States. John 
Hopkins' University Studies, II., v. — vi., Henry Carter 
Adams, Taxation in the United States, 1789—1826; VIII, 
i. — ii., Albion W. Small, T/ie Beginnings of Atnerican 
Nationality, which deals with the constitutional relatioii 
between the Continental Congress and the Colonies and 
States; Gen. Francis A. Walker's article in the Forum for 
June, 1895, Growth of American Nationality. Howard 
\*Yiii^lon\ Documents. Numbers 1, li, :j, .5, <», 12, of the Old 
South Leaflets. Mrs. Lamb's article in Macjazine ok Amkij- 
ICAN History, April, 1885, The Fnnners of the Constitution. 

Tile Convention which framed the (Constitution of tlie 
United States convened in Independence Hall, May 25, 1787. 
Tlie doors were closed and an injunction of strict secrecy 
was ])ut ujton each member. The result of the work was 



PBEFA CE. 



made known the following September, but the proceedings 
of the Convention were not revealed for fifty years after, 
when every man who had taken part in it was dead. In 
1860, the notes Madison had taken were published by 
Congress. During the four months of the Convention 1,300 
speeches were delivered. Of these Gouverneur Morris made 
191, James Wilson, 150, P^lbridge Gerry, 100, Roger Sher- 
man and James Madison, each 122, Charles Pickney, 90, and 
John Randolph, 85. 

There is no period in American history of so great im- 
portance, and at the same time so little understood, as the 
period from 1763 to 1789. The reader may well peruse the 
works above cited under this heading; and should he have 
access to an extensive public library, he should inquire for 
Gilpin's compilation, l^he Papers of James Madison; Justin 
Winsor's N'arative and Critical History of America) i^vtme^ 
Bryce's The American Gotnmomcealth (new revised edition 
just out); Herman von Hoist's Constitutional and Political 
History of the United States ; Lalor's Cyclopaedia of Politi- 
cal Science, Political Economy, and Political History of the 
United States; The "American Statesmen" series of biogra- 
phy, edited by J. T. Morse. 

Our National Flag. See Major-General Schuyler 
Hamilton's The Flay of the United States; Admiral George 
Henry Preble's History of the Flay of the ITnited States. 

The Great Seal of the United States. See Loss- 
ing's article in Harper's Magazine, July, 1856; Lander's 
article in Magazine of American History, May- June, 
1893; Gaillard Hunt's Seal of the United Stales (department 
of State, 1892); various original documents, in the depart- 
ment of State, Journals of Congress, etc. By permission of 
the Editors of the Youth's Companion I use the article and 
illustration published in the Companion of March 9, l«93. 



vi PREFACE. 

Territorial Development of the United States. 
As a basis lor the paragraphs on territorial development I 
have taken Townsend MacCoun's Historical Geography., and 
have verified its statements by data from the Uriited States 
Geological Survey and other reliable sources. The colored 
maps of Mr. MacCoun's book, 43 in number, are unique in 
their portrayal of our country as it appeared after each 
change it has gone through, from its discovery until to-day, 
and they aflford t])e greatest mechanical aid for the study of 
United States history that has come to my notice. Bul- 
letin 18 of the U. S. Geological Survey by Gannett, lioaml- 
arieji. of the States and the Urnted St(ttes ; The "American 
Commonwealtir'' scries edited by Horace E. Scudder. 

Origin of the Names and Nicknames of the 
States. Considerable aid has been received' in this connec- 
tion from State Librarians, Historical Societies and State 
Secretaries. I am, also, indebted to Malcolm Townsend' s 
U. S. Mr. Townsend has exliil)ited exceptional taste of dis- 
crimination in the selection of material for his book. Pages 
179 — 301 are a repository of rare information, relating to 
the Constitution, Political Parties, and the Presidents, with 
illustrations of the tombs, vaults, monuments, tablets and 
memorials of the deceased ex -Presidents, and their wives. 
I know of no other work of this character that contains so 
much that is really rare and valuable. The classification of 
details is perfect. I haye also drawn from Jacques W. Red- 
way's Manual of (reography. This book renders the latest 
discoveries in Geography available for the use of teachers. 
A part of the work is devoted to the discussion of old tradi- 
tions that still cumber many text-books, and still lino-er in 
the minds of those who have not kept pace with recent in- 
vestigation. The appendix contains a list of references for 
geographical reading, that will be found helpful bv many. 



PRKFA (JE. 



The Story of the States, edited by Elbridge S. Brooks. 

The Louisiana Purchase is a topic of absorbing in- 
terest. For further reading see Rev. William Barrow's 
Oregon; The Natiox, March 15, 22, 29, and April 12, 1883. 
"American Statesmen'"' series, Oilman's James Monroe. 

The Missouri Compromise, and Kansas-Nebras- 
ka Bill. See Alexander Johnson's History of American 
J^olitics; H. von Hoist's Constitutional and Political History 
of the United States; American History Leaflets, No. 17, 
Documents Relating to the Kaitsas- Nebraska Act. 

I deem it unnecessary to give a more extended list of 
references. All of the works referred to are, with few ex- 
cej»tions, single volumes, and within easy reach of those with 
limited means. When the reader has perused tljese he will 
be able to judge what he should take up next. H, however, 
this book should fall into the hands of a reader desiring an 
elaborate list of references, he is referred to References to 
the Constitution of the United States, and References to the 
History of the Presidential Administrations, by William E. 
Foster. 

Grant, Ixd., Avgnst, 1895. 



TOPICAL CONTENTS. 

\^Alphahetically arranged. ] 
PART I. 

Albany Convention, The - - - 2. 

Articles of Confederation, The - - - 11. 

Confederacy of the Neav England Colonies, - 1. 

Constitution, The Federal - - - 14. 

Continental Congress, The First - - - 5. 

The Second - - - 7. 

The Decline of - - 11. 

Declaration of Independence, The - - - 7. 

Flag, Our National - - - - 18. 

Franklin's Plan of Union, - - - 2, 

Heraldic Terms, Explanation of - - - 28. 
Liberty Cap Insignia, .... 24. 

Motto, The United States - - - 35. 

Seal of the United States, The Great - - 25. 

Seals of the Individual States, The Great - 33. 

Sobriquets, National - - - - 36. 

Stamp Act Congress, The - - - - 5. 

Yankee, Derivation of - - - - 3*7. 

Yankee Doodle, Origin of - - . 38. 

PART II. 

Introduction, - - - - - 41. 

New England, - - . . . 43. 

Ori(41nal Public Domain, - - - - 92. 
The States: 

Alabama - 78. Montana - 125. 

Arkansas - 90. Nebraska - 110. 

California - 130. Nevada - 132 



CONTENTS. 



1-iS. 


New Hampshire 


47. 


.-)4. 


Mmv Jersey 


60. 


(i4. 


New York 


5S. 


7 5. 


North Carolina 


70. 


T4. 


North Dakota 


117. 


124. 


Ohio 


1)3. 


•.»7. 


()re<j;oii 


120. 


{»G. 


J^eniisylvaiiia 


62. 


10:5. 


South Carolina 


73 


I(J7. 


Soiitli Dakota 


iiy. 


100. 


Rhode Island - 


56. 


SI. 


Tennessee 


76. 


44. 


Texas 


86. 


6(3. 


Vermont 


4i». 


51. 


Virginia 


67. 


111. 


Wasliington 


1 lit. 


114. 


West Virginia 01) 


, 150. 


79. 


Wisconsin 


113. 


104. 


Wyoming 


127. 


147. 


New Mexico 


135. 


137. 


Oklahoma 


140. 


145. 


Utah 


133. 



Colorado 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

^iissouri 
Tii K TiiiiKiTouiics: 

Alaska, Dist. of 147. 

Arizona 

Columbia, Dist. of 145. 

Indian - 139. 

No Man's Laxd, - - - - 143. 

APPENDIX. 
"Gerrymandkrixh," - - - - 155, 

Area and Population of the States and Terri- 
tories OF THE United States, with the [Pop- 
ulation OF THEIR CaI'ITAI-S, - - 157. 

Population of the Ten LAi{<iKST Cities ix thk 

United States - - _ _ \;^^ 

Thk Center ok Population ix the United Statks - 159. 

Lif.N(jTH OK the Coast Line ok the Unitkd States - 160. 

Size ok oi'u Great Lakes - - _ \{)0. 

Nickna:mes ok Cities in the United Statks - ici. 

LeN(;th ok a De(;uee ok Longitude - _ 164, 



PART I. 



PARir I. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPIRIT OF 

UNION AND INDEPENDENCE IN THE 

AMERICAN COLONIES. 



There is something sacred in the history of the Ameri- 
can Colonies. There is nothing better calcuhited to develop 
the judgment of young minds, and to teach them practical 
lessons from the vast range of human experience than the 
reading and the study of the early annals of Our Country. 

How often, when studying the Colonial Period, are we 
impressed with the thought that truly 

"God moves in a mysterious way 
His wonders to pei'form;'" 
and that 

"There's a divinity ll.at ^Laj es our ends. 
Rough-hew them how we will." 

Up to the time of the Revolutionary Wai*, Independ- 
ence, more than the right of local government, was unthought 
of, and thus it is especially interesting to trace the develop- 
ment of the s])irit of union and indej endence in the Colonies 
which were the beginning of a Republic, which now stands 
pre-eminent among the great powers of the earth. 

Confederacy of New England Colonies. — The ear- 
liest league in America, among white people at least, was 
the confederacy of the New England colonies formed in 1648, 
between Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven and Con- 
necticut colonies, Rhode Island and Maine wished to join 
the other colonics in this confederacy, but as the former had 



'2 in, STO RIVAL AND GEOGllArUIVAL 

established freedom of worship, according to the idea of 
Roger Williams, ami as the latter continued to hold to the 
English Church they were Loth refused. In this case, as in 
the persecutions of the Quakers, the Puritans exhibited tluir 
inconsistency of intolerance. 

The object of the confederacy of the Puritan colonies 
was a common protection against the Indians, and the en- 
croachment of the Dutch and French settlers, and lasted till 
1684 when the charter of Massachusetts was withdrawn by 
Charles II. 

The Albany Convention and Franklin's Plan for 
a Permanent Feder:;.! Unicfti. — At the time of the forma- 
tion of the New England Confederacy iii 1G43 "the northern 
and southern colonies along the Atlantic coast were distinct 
groups separated by the unsettled portion of the central zone. 
The settlement of Pennsylvania, beginning in 1681, filled 
this gap and made the colonies continuous from the French 
frontier of Canada to the Spanish frontier of Florida." 

In 1689 war broke out in Europe between England and 
France and their respective colonies in America took up the 
quarrel. The Indians of Canada and Maine assisted the 
French, and the Five Kations of New York aided the Eng- 
lish. This war lasted eight years, and is referred to as King 
William's War. It was ended by the treaty of Ryswick and 
neither the French nor the English gained anj'thing in the 
way of territory. 

In 1702, during the reign of Queen Anne, war was again 
declared by England against Spain and France. This time 
the Five Nations took no part in the war as they had made a 
treaty with the French a short time previous. This contest 
lasted eleven j ears and the English gained Acadia. 

In 1744 began King George's War which lasted four 
years. As in previous wars it grew out of difficulties between 
England and France and closed without the boundaries be- 
tween the French and English territory being decided. 

Finally in 1754 the final struggle between the English 
and French in America began, and this is known in history 
as the French and Indian War. The conflict this time 



MTS ( 'EL LA N ^ ^ O F THE imiTED S TA TES. 3 

lasted nine years. In fact hostilities had never ceased be- 
tween the French and English in America after the opening 
of King William's War in 1689, 

At the beginning of this war the English occupied a nar- 
row strip along the Atlantic coast from what is now northern 
Maine to Florida. Both England and France claimed the 
country west of the Alleghanies, along the Ohio, and the 
French held the disputed territory by more than sixty mili- 
tary posts. 

When it was seen by the English colonists ihat a gener- 
al conflict might be expected a convention of the colonies 
north of the Potomac was assembled at Albany, for the pur- 
jtose of renewing the alliances with the Six Nations, and to 
consider what else might be done. This convention is known 
in history as the Albany Congrkss. Fiske, in his "Civil 
Government in the United States" calls attention to the 
word "Congress," as used in this connection. For he 
writes, "If it had been a legislative body it would have more 
likely been called a parliament. But of course it was nothing 
of the sort. It was a diplomatic body composed of delegates 
representing the state governments, like Earoi)ean congresses 
— like the Congress of Berlin, for example, which tried to 
adjust the Eastern Question in 1878." 

It was before this Congress that Benjamin Franklin laid 
his famous ^j^o? ,/"c>r a permanent' federal urrioit. * "The plan 
proposed a grand council or congress of forty-eight members, 
chosen by the several assemblies, the represer.tatives of each 
colony to be, in number, in proportion to the contribution of 
each to the general treasury; that the congress should choose 
its own speaker and have the general management of all civil 
and military affairs, and to enact general laws in conformity 
to the British constitution and not in contravention of acts 
of the imperial parliament; to have a President-General (with 
Philadelphia the scat of government) appointed and i)aid by 
the crown, who should bear a negative or veto power on all 
acts of the congress, and to have, with the advice and consent 
of the congress, the appointment of all military officers and 

* See Lossing-'s. "t)ur Country," Vol. 1. pngeSSg. 



u 



JUS roUK 'AL A Nl) (iKO li ItAFIll CAL 



the entire management of Indian affairs, the civil officers to 
be apjiointed by the congress with the aj)j)roval of the Pres- 
ident-(4eneral. Tliis })lan of governmcJit was similar, in the 
leading features, to our National Constitution, in the fram- 
ing of which Dr. Franklin bore a conspicious ])art more than 
thirty years after the convention at Albany." 

Franklin's Plan of Union was adopted by the Albany 
Congress and was sul)mitted to the Lords of Trades and Plan- 
tations. That body did not approve of it, nor even recom- 
mend it to the consideration of the King. Neither was it 
favorably received by the assemblies, ])artly because the 
royal governors at first warmly recommended it, hence it was 
rejected by both the colonies and the crown, the former 
thinking that it was not democratic enough, and the latter 
believing that it was too democratic. One authority says 
that a part of Franklin's ])lan was to send repi'esentatives to 
the English Parliament and that the authorities in England 
"dreaded American union as the keystone of independence." 

"The plan was afterwar.l submitted to the several leg- 
islatures of the colonies, and was everywhere rejected be- 
cause the need for union was nowhere strongly felt by the 
people." 

Franklin's thoughts had been occupied with the topic of 
union for sometime previous to the sitting of the Albany 
Convention. At the close of an account in his newspaper, 
the Pennsylvania Gazette, of the seizure by the French of 
the position at the Forks of the Ohio, he published, a rude 
wood cut representing a ser}»ent, (the ancient emblem of 
myor), separated into as many parts as there were Englisli- 
American colonies, and under it, in large letters, the words, 
-UNITE OR DIE." This signi- 
ficant device, whi(;h seems to have 
been first used by Franklin, figured 
conspicuously at the opening of the 
Revolution twenty years afterward. 
Peace was made in Paris, in 1763 
between the three powers, PJngland, 
France and Spain. S|)ain, who had also been at war with 




MisrELLAXY OF THE UNITED STA TEJS. 5 

England, ceded East and West Florida to the English 
Crown. France gave to Great Britian all her territory 
east of the Mississippi, from its source to the river Iber- 
ville, and from there through the Lake of Maurepas and 
Pontchartrain to the Gulf of Mexico, and to Spain she ceded 
New Orleans, and all her territory west of the Mississippi 
River. By the provisions of this treaty the French lost all 
of their possession in America. 

The Stamp Act Congre.ss. — "Eleven years after the 
Albany Congress, upon the news that parliament had passed, 
the Stamp Act, a congress of nine colonies assembled at New 
York in October, 1765, to take action thereon." This Con- 
gress met in response to an invitation from Massachusetts 
and is known as the Stamp Act Coxgrkss. Twenty seven 
delegates were present. The body continued in session four- 
teen days, and the whole subject of the rights and grievances 
of the colonists was fully discussed. John Cruger, of New 
York was assigned the duty of drafting a Dedarutioii of 
nights; Robert R. Livingston, of New York, prepared a 
Petition, to the Kitig ; and James Otis, of Massachusetts, who 
had but a short time before declared that "Taxation without 
representation is tyranny," wrote a Memorial to both Houses 
of Parliament. These were adopted and have ever since been 
regarded as able state papers. 

William Pitt, a prominent member of English Parlia- 
ment, thought that it was wrong to tax the colonists, and Ed- 
mund Burke questioned the wisdom of such a policy. When 
the Stamp Act came up for discussion in Parliament Pitt wa,s 
absent and Charles Townshend, who spoke in his stead, made 
a speech in defence of the Act. Colonel Barre, in his reply 
to Townshend, Avhich is a masterpiece of satirical oratory, 
referred to the American patriots as Sons of lAberty . This 
speech greatly pleased the colonists, and they eagerly adopted 
the appellation, "Sons of Liberty," as a name for the associa- 
tions which were formed by the patriots to resist the laM'. 
The Stamp Act was formally repealed, March 18, ITOG. 

First Continental Congress. — "Nine years elapsed 
without another congress. Meanwhile the political 



6 lUSTORICA L A NI) GEO (ill Ami ( 'A L 

excitement, with occasional lulls, went on increasing 
and some sort of cooperation between the colonial govern- 
ments became habitual. In 1768, after parliament had passed 
theTownshend revenue acts, which imposed a duty on all the 
glass, paper, })ainters'' colors, and tea which should thereaf- 
ter be imported into the colojiies, there was no congress, but 
Massachusetts sent a circular letter to the other colonies, in- 
viting them to co()i)erate in measures of resistance and the 
other colonies responded favorably. In 17 72, committees of 
correspondence between the towns of Massachusetts acted as 
a sort of provisional government for the commonwealth. In 
1773 Dabney Carr, of Virginia, eidarged u|)on this idea, and 
committees of correspondence were forthwith instituted be- 
tween the several colonies. Thus the habit of acting in con- 
cert began to be formed. In 177-i, after parliament had 
passed an act overthrowing the government of Massachusetts 
along with other oit'eiisive measures, a congress assembled 
[September 5th, in Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia." Twelve 
colonies sent delegates, which numbered tifty-four in all. 
This congress declared that obedience was not due to any of 
the recent act-; of parlia.n^ut, and sustained Massachusetts in 
her resistance. It expressed a protest against standing arm- 
ies being kept in the colonies without the consent of the peo- 
ple; and demanded the right to levy all taxes, and make all 
laws. Congress adjourned O.^tober 2(5, 1774, to meet May 
10, 1775. 

''This cougiess was called 'continentaF to distinguish it 
from the 'provincial congresses' held in several of the colonies 
at about the same time. The thirteen colonies were indeed but 
a narrow strip on the edge of a vast, and in a large part, unex- 
plored continent, but the word 'continental' was convenient for 
distinguishing between the whole confederacy and its several 
members. 

"If the remonstrances adopted at the First Continental 
Congress had been heeded by the British government, and 
peace had followed, this congress would probably have been 
as temporary an affair as its predecessors; people would prob- 
ably have waited until overtaken by some other emergency. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 7 

But, inasmuch as war followed, the congress assembled again 
in May, 1775, and thereafter became practically a permanent 
institution until it died of old age with the year 1788. 

The Second Continental Congress. — "The Continen- 
tal Congi'ess began to exercise a certain amount of directive 
authority from the time of its first sitting in 1774. Such 
authority as it had arose simply from the fact that it repre- 
sented an agreement on the ])art of the several governments 
to pursue a certain line of policy. It was a diplomatic and 
executive, but scarcely yet a legislative bvidy. Nevertheless 
it was the visible symbol of a kind of union between the 
states. There never was a time when any one of the original 
states exercised the full honor of sovereignty. Not one of 
them was ever a small sovereign state like Denmark and Por- 
tugal. As they acted together under the common direction 
of the British government in 1759, the year of Quebec, so 
they acted together under the common direction of that revo- 
lutionary body, the Continental Congress, in 1775, the year 
of Bunker Hill." The battle of Lexington occurred on April 
19, and on May 10th, the same day that Ethan Allen took 
Ticonderoga the Secc^nd Continental Congress met at 
Philadelphia. It voted to raise twenty thousand men, and 
George Washington was appointed Commander-in-chief. A pe- 
tition to the King was also prepared, but he refused to receive 
it. This destroyed all hope of reconciliation. 

The Declaration of Independence. — In the following 
year, when independence was declared, it was done by the 
concerted action of all the colonies. 

North Carolina took the first progressive step for inde- 
pendence, April 22, 1776, by declaring herself ready to con- 
cur with those in the other colonies in declaring independence. 

Virginia, May 17, 1776, prepared the title of the docu- 
ment by directing her representatives to propose a "Declara- 
tion of Independence." 

Rhode Island in May, 1776, ordered that the name of 
the "Colony of Rhode Island" be the oath of allegiance in- 
stead of to the "King of Great Britian." 

Delegates to Congx-ess of the various coloiiies, were in- 



cS' HI STORK \\ L . I NI) (JKO (j'JiA PlIK 'AL 

structed as follows: 

North Carolltuf, coiieur in declaring independence. 

Massachusetts, voice the seutinent of Congress. 

Mr(/hii<i, propose a declaration of independence. 

lihodc Island, a declaration of independence. 

New York, without instructions. 

(Jo)uiectirut, assent to a declaration of independence. 

Neir HatnpsJiire, favor a declaration of independence. 

Ncv Jcrsei/, act as judgments dictated. 

Peitust/lraiild, not instructed. 

Maryland , forbidden to vote for independence. 

Geori/ia, vote as they pleased. 

jSoifth Carolina, free to their opinions. 

JJelairare, no restrictions. 

This feeli/i;/ for independence, culminated in Congress 
Friday, June 7, 1770, when Richard Henry Lee of Virginia 
moved "That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to 
be, free and independent tStates; that they are absolved from 
all allegiance to the British crown; and that all political con- 
nection between them and the State of Great Britian, is and 
ought to be, totally dissolved." 

This motion was seconded l)y John Adams of Massachu- 
setts. 

The histoiy of this resolution is as follows: 

June 8, 1776. — '■'■liesolved, That the resolutions respect- 
ing independency be referred to a committee of the whole 
Congress. 

Congress resolved itself into a committee of the whole; 
but not coming to any resolution, Jiesolred, a re-sitting for 
June 10. 

June 10, 1776. — Resolution agreed to in committee of 
the whole, read: '■'■Hesolved, That the consideration of the 
first resolution be postponed to Monday, the first day of July 
next; and in the meanwhile, that no time be lost, in case the 
Congress agree thereto, that a committee be appointed to pre- 
pare a declaration to the effect of the said first resolution, 
which is in these words: That these united colonies are, and 
of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. U 

are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown; and 
that all political connection between them and the State of 
Great Britian is, and ought to be, totally disolved." 

June 11, 1776. — '■^Resolved, That the committee for pre- 
paring the Declaration, consists of five:" 

The committee chosen being Thomas Jefferson, of Vir- 
ginia, Chairman, John Adams, of Massachusetts, Benjamin 
Franklin, of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, 
Robert R. Livingston, of New York. 

July 1, 1776. — '■'■Jiesolved, That this Congress will re- 
solve itself into a committee of the wtole, to take into con- 
sideration the resolutions respecting independency." 

Postponement, under request of a colony, covered by 
resolution, for "to-morrow." 

July 2, 1776. — Official Record; 

Tuesday, Jxdy 2, 1776. 

"The Congress resume I the coinlerition of the resolu- 
tion from the Committee of the whole; which was agreed to 
as follows: 

^^ dissolved, That these united colonies are, and of right- 
ought to be, free and independent States; that they are ab- 
solved from all allegiance to the British crown and that all 
political connection between them, and the State of Great 
Britian is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." (Adopted in 
private session.) 

"On resolution, Congress will meet tomori'ow to take 
into their further consideration the declaration respecting in- 
dependence. " 

July 3, 1776. The committee of the whole further 
considered the Declaration, and later in the day, liesolved, 
"That the Congress will tomorrow, again resolve it- 
self into a Committee of the whole, to take into their further 
consideration the Declaration of Independence." 

THURSDAY, JULY 4, 1776.-The "Declaration of In- 
dependence," as amended, adopted by the unanimous vote of 
the Colonies present, but not the unanimity of the delegates 
present. 

The ado])tion of the Declaration was due to the deciding 



10 niSTOUKJAL AN J J aEOaHAPUICAL 



vote of John Morton of the Pennsylvania delegation, there 
being six colonies in favor and six against the measure and 
the need of Pennsylvania to give a majority. 

The Declaration was published to the world with only 
two signatures, John Hancock, President; Charles Thomson, 
Secretary, under i;esolutions of Congress, July 4, 1776, 

''AV.s-o//vf/, That copies of the Declai-ation be sent the 
several asseinl)lies, conventions, and committees or councils 
of safety, and to the several commanding officers of the Con- 
tinental troops; that it be proclaimed in each of the United 
States at the head of the army." 

Morris Rush, Clymer Smith and Taylor Ross, of Pennsyl- 
vania, and Matthew Thornton, of New Hampshire, were not in 
Congress, July 2, nor wert^ they at that time members. Five 
Pennsylvanians, not a])p;)int.c 1 until July 2(3, were permitted 
to sign, as the act wa^^ in eifcct a test oath, the principles of 
many of the new delegates coming into Congress from differ- 
ent states were not known witli certainty, some might have 
been Tories in disguise; for this reason each one on entering 
Congress wa-s require;! on enteritig first to aftiv iiis signature 
to the Declaration. 

The Declaration of Independence was the composition 
of Thomas Jefferson, being written at his lodging house 
(Mrs. Clymer's) southwest corner of Seventh and High 
Streets, Philadelphia. 

The bell in the stee.])le of the State House, that rang out 
the announcement of the adoption of the ' 'Declaration," by 
a singular coincidence bore the inscription, "Proclaim liber- 
ty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." 

All the signers had smooth faces. ' 

The oldest member at the time of signing was Benjamin 
Franklin, who was in his 7 1st year. The youngest was Ed- 
ward Rutledge, aged 27 years. 

At death five signers were over 90 years of age, eight 
over 80, ten over 70, fourteen over 60, eleven over 50, 
seven over 40, one over 80; an exhibit of an extraordinary 
average age, (66|^ years) probably the greatest reached by 
any body of men. (See Townsend's "■U. S. Index.") 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 11 

Articles of Confederation. — During the same year 
that Congress adopted tlie Declaratiou, it appointed a com- 
mittee "to prepare and properly digest a form of confedera- 
tion to be entered into by the several states." The commit- 
tee was ai)pointed June 11, 17VG. 

This form of confederation or constitution, known as 
tlie "Articles of Confederation," was submitted to Con- 
gress, July 12, 1776, laid aside August 20, 1776. It was 
taken up for reconsideration April y, 1777. It was debated 
on and amendments made, until adopted November 15, 1777. 
It was not formally announced to tl\c public by all the States 
till March 1, 1781. 

Maryland held oif two years after the other States had 
ratified the Articles of Confederation. She was slow to rati- 
fy, owing to the conflicting claims of the Union and of the 
separate States to the Crown-land. The claim of the States 
to the unsettled and unappropriatel laals tiually being ceded 
to the benefit of the whole Union, Ma^rylan 1 empowered her 
delegates to sign. Maryland's claim to the full meaning of a 
Confederation originated the Territorial System, resulting in 
a distinct government for the "Northwestei'n Territory," 
with a local legislature of its own. (See '"Fisk's Civil Gov- 
ernment in the United States," p. -Jo:^.) 

Weakness of the Articles of Confederation; De- 
cline of the Continental Congress. — "Meanwhile the Re- 
volutionary War had advanced int > its last stages, having 
been carried on from the outset un ler the general direction of 
the Continental Congress. When reading about this period 
of our history, the student must be careful not to be misled by 
the name 'Congress' into reasoning as if there were any re- 
semblance whatever between that body and the Congress 
which was created by our Federal Constitution. The Con- 
tinental Congress was not the parent of our Federal Congress; 
the former died without offspring, and the latter had a very 
different origin as we shall soon see. The former sim])Iv 
be(jueathed to the latter a name, that was all. 

The Continental Congress was an assembly of delegates 
from the thirteen states, which from 1774 to l7s:] held its 



12 IHSTORICAL AND GEOGliAPIIICAL 

sessions at Pliila(lel))hia, (except for a few days in December, 
17 To when it tied to Haltimore, and again from September, 
1777, to June, 1778, when Philadelphia was in the posession 
of the British; during that interval Congress held its meet- 
ings at York in Pennsylvania.) It owned no federal proper- 
ty, not even the house in which it assembled, and after it 
had been turned out of doors by a mob of drunken soldiers 
in June, 1788, it flitted aooat from place to place, sitting 
now at Trenton, now at Annapolis, and finally at New York. 
[8ee F isle's Crltlcil Period of AnieriC'tn History, pp. 112, 
271, 306.) Each state sent to it as many delegates as it chose, 
though after the adoption of the articles no state could send 
less than two or more thau seven. ii;ich state had one vote, 
and it took nine votes, or two thirds of the whole, to carry 
any measure of importance. One of the delegates was cho- 
sen president or chairman of the Congress, and this position 
was one of great dignity and consideraole influence, but it 
was not essentially different from the position of any of the 
other delegates. There were no distinct executive officers. 
Important executive matters were at first assigned to com- 
mittees, such as the Finance Committee and the Board of 
War, though at the most trying time the finance committee 
was, a committee of one. in the person of Robert Morris, who 
was commonly called the Financier. The work of the finance 
committee was chiefly trying to solve the problem of pay- 
ing bills without spending money, for there was seldom any 
money to spend. Congress could not tax the people or re- 
cruit the army. When it wanted money or troops, it could 
only ask the state governments for them; and generally it 
got from a fifth to a fourth part of the troops needed, but of 
money a far smaller proportion. Sometimes it borrowed 
money from Holland or France, but often its only resource 
was to issue paper promises to pay, or the so-called Continen- 
tal paper money. There were no federal courts, (except the 
'Court of Appeals in Cases of Capture;' for an admirable ac- 
count of which see Jameson's Essays in the Constitutional 
History of the United States, pp. 1 — Ii5,) nor marshals to 
execute federal decrees. Congress might issue orders, but it 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. IS 

had no means of compelling obedience. 

"The Continental Congress was therefore not in the full 
sense a sovereign body. A government is not really a gov- 
ernment until it can impose taxes and thus command the 
money needful for keeping it in existence. Nevertheless the 
Congress exercised some of the most indisputable functions 
of sovereignty. 'It declared the independence of the United 
States; it contracted an offensive and defensive alliance with 
France; it raised and organized a Continental army; it bor- 
rowed large sums of money, and pledged what the lenders 
understood to be the national credit for their repayment; it is- 
sued an inconvertible i)aper currency, granted letters of 
marque, and built a navy.' [See Fisk\s Critical Period, ]>. 
93.) Finally it ratified a treaty of peace with Great Brit- 
ian. So that the Congress was really, in many respects, and 
in the eyes of the Avorld at large, a sovereign body. Time 
soon showed that the continued exercise of such powers was 
not compatible with the absence of the power to tax the peo- 
ple. In truth the situation of the Continental Congress was 
an illogical situation. In the effort of throwing off the sov- 
ereignty of Great Britian, the people of these states were 
constructing a federal union faster than they realized. Their 
theory of the situation did not keep pace with the facts, and 
their first attempt to embody their theory, in the Articles of 
Confeieration, was not unnaturally a failure. 

"At first the powers of Congress wei*e vague. They 
were what are called 'implied war powers'; that is to say, the 
Congress had a war with Great Britian on its hands, and 
must be supposed to have power to do whatever was necessa- 
ry to bring the war to a successful conclusion. At first, too, 
when it had only begun to issue paper money, there was a 
momentary feeling of prosperity. Military miccess added 
to its appearance of strength, and the reputation of the Con- 
gress reached its high-water mark early in 1778, after the 
capture of Burgoyne's army and the making of the alliance 
with France. After that time, with the weary prolonging 
of the war, the increase of the public debt, and the collapse 
of the paper currency, its rejtutation steadily declined. 



U ITISTOMICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

There was also much work to be clone in reorganizing the 
state governments, and this kept at home in the state legis- 
latures many of the ablest men who would otherwise have 
been sent to the Congress. Thus in point of intellectual 
capacity the latter body was distinctly inferior in 1783 to 
what it had been when first assembled nine years earlier. 

"The arrival of peace did not help the Congress, but 
made matters worse. When the absolute necessity of pre- 
senting a united front to the common enemy was removed, 
the weakness of the union was shown in many ways that 
were alarming. The sentiment of union M'as weak. In spite 
of the community in language and institutions, which was so 
favorable to union, the people of the several states had many 
local prejudices which tended to destroy the union in its in- 
fancy. A man was quicker to remember that he was a New 
Yorker or a Massachusetts man than that he was an American 
and a citizen of the United States. Neighboring states lev- 
ied custom-house duties against one another, or refused to ad- 
mit into their markets each other's produce, or had quarrels 
about boundaries which went to the vero;e of war. Thinsrs 
grew worse every year until by the autumn of 1786, when 
the Congress was quite bankrupt and most of the states 
nearly so, when threats of secession were heard both in New 
England and in the South, when there were riots in several 
states and Massachusetts was engaged in suppressing armed 
rebellion, when people in Europe were beginning to ask 
whether we were more likely to be seized by France or re- 
conquered piecemeal by Great Britian, it came to be thought 
necessary to make some kind of a change. 

"Men were most unwillingly brought to this conclusion, 
because they were used to their state assemblies and not 
afraid of them, but they were afraid of increasing the pow- 
ers of any government superior to the states, lest they should 
thus create an unmanagable tyranny. They believed that 
even anarchy, though a dreadful evil, is not so dreadful as 
despotism, and for this view there is much to be said." 

The Federal Constitution.— "After no end of trouble 
a convention was at length got together at Philadelphia in 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. Ih 

May, 1787, and after four 7iionths of work with closed doors 
it was able to offer to the country the new Fkdkkai. Con- 
stitution." 

*A resolntion to reconstruct the Articles of Confederation 
was passed in^Congress, Feb. 21, 1787, and read as follows: 

'■'•Rvsolced, That in the opinion of Congress, it is expe- 
dient, that on the second Monday of May next, a convention 
of delegates, who shall have been appointed by the several 
states, be held at Philadelphia, for the sole and express pur- 
pose of revising the Articles of Confederation, and reporting 
to Congress, and the several legislatu'es, such altei'ations and 
provisions therein as shall, when agreed to in Congress, and 
confirmed by the states, render the Federal Constitution ade- 
quate to the exigencies of the Government and the ])reserva- 
tion of the Union." 

State delegates assembled in Philadelphia, May 14, 1787 
(Rhode Island excepted), but it was not until May 25, a ma- 
jority representation of seven states arrived. Convention 
then assembled, electing George Wasliington President, and 
AVilliam Jackson Secretary. 

The Articles of Confederation being inadequate to the 
wants of the country, it was lain aside, and the plan for a new 
Constitution inaugurated; the two principal plans presented 
being one by the New Jersey delegation, the other by the 
Virginia delegation. 

FEDERAL OR NEW JERSEY PLAN: 

"To continue the Articles of Confederation and strength- 
en them by giving them some means by which to act, so that 
Congress.would not be wholly dependent upon the States." 
NATIONAL OR VIRGINIA PLAN: 

"A series of thirteen resolutions fi'amed according to 
suggestions of Madison, and contemplating an entirely new 
Government, composed of executive, legislative and judicial 
departments; to act directly on the people, and to be supreme 
within certain limits." 

The former plan was rejected by the convention as it 
would not meet the necessities of the situation; the Virginia 

*See Townsend's U. S. Index p. 199. 



10 IIISTOIilCAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

l)lan was adopted as a basis of a new Constitution, nearly ev- 
ery suggestion being utilized. 

A committee was appointed July 20, composed of N. 
Gorham, O. Ellsworth, Jas. Wilson, E. Randolph, and John 
Rutledge, after which the Coi^vention adjoui'ned for two 
weeks. 

Re-convened Monday, August 6. 

Septeml)er 12, 17S7, the committee submitted the fol- 
lowing resolution to Congress: 

'■'■Resolmd, unanimously, That the said report, with "the 
resolutions and letters accompanying the same, be transmitted 
to the several Legislatures, in order to be submitted to a con- 
vention of delegates chosen in each State by the people there- 
of, in conformity to the resolves of the convention, made and 
provided for in tliat case." Adopted. 

September 17, I7s7, the work of the committee was ac- 
cepted and ordered to be engrossed. 

Convention adjourned September 17, 1787. 

Rhode Island was the only State not represented in the 
Convention, nor did she ratify until measures were instituted 
toward treating her as a foreign power. 

The Constitution was ratified by the several States as fol- 
lows: 

Delaware, Dec. 7, 1787, unanimously. 

Pennsylvania, Dec. 12, 1787, vote 46 to 28. 

New Jersey, Dec. 18, 1787, unanimously. 

Georgia, Jan. 2, 1788, unanimously. 

Connecticut, Jan. 9. 1788, vote 128 to 40. 

Massachusetts, Feb. 6, 1788, vote 187 to 168. 

Maryland, April 28, 1788, vote 68 to 12. 

South Carolina, May 28, 1788, vote 149 to 78. 

New Hampshire, June 21, 1788, vote 57 to 46. 

Virginia, June 25, 1788, vote 89 to 79. 

New York, July 26, 1788, vote 80 to 28. 

North Carolina, Nov. 21, 1789, vote 193 to 75. 

Rhode Island, May 29, 1790, vote 84 to 82. 

Gouveneur Morris framed the Constitution. 

Its execution was due to James Madison, to whom Avas 



MIS CELL ANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 1\ 



given the title of "Father of the Constitution." 

AYashington signed first, after which followed signatures 
iu order of States, beginning with the East. 

New York state bears one representative signature ' 'Ham- 
ilton." 

The oldest "signer" was Benjamin Franklin, of Pennsyl- 
vania, aged 81 years; the youngest, Nicholas Gilman, of New 
Hampshire, aged 25 years. 

The Constitution carried the sobriquet of "The Good 
Ship Constitution." 

The first Congress to meet under the new Constitution 
was called to meet in New York, March 4, 1789, and on that 
day only twenty- one members of both houses were on hand 
to begin work. The house did not have a quorum until 
April 1, nor the Senate until April 6. 

"Both in its charactei and in the work which it did this 
Federal Convention, over which Washington presided, and 
of which Franklin, Madison and Hamilton were members, 
was one of the most remarkable deliberative bodies known in 
history. 

"We have seen that the fundamental weakness of the 
Continental Congress lay in the fact that it could not tax the 
people. Hence although it could for a time exert other high 
functions of sovereignty, it could only do so while money 
was supplied to it from other sources than taxation; from 
contributions made by the states in answer to its requisitions, 
from foreign loans, and from a paper currency. But such re- 
sources could not last long. It was like a man's trying to 
live upon his own promissory notes and upon gifts and unse- 
cured loans from his friends. When the supply of money 
was exhausted, the Congress soon found that it could no long- 
er comport itself as a sovereign power; it could not preserve 
ortier at home, and the situation abroad may be illustrated by 
the fact that George HI. kept garrisons in several of our 
northwestern frontier towns and would not send a minister 
to the United States. This example shows that, among the 
sovereign powers of a government, the power of taxation is 
the fundamental one upon which all others depend. Noth- 



18 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

jng can go without money. 

"But the people of the several states would never con- 
sent to grant the power of taxation to such a body as the 
Continental Congress, in which they were not represented. 
The Congress was not a legislature, but a diplomatic body; it 
did not represent the people, but the state governments; and 
a large state like Pennsylvania had no more weight in it than 
a little state like Delaware. If there was to be any central 
assembly for the whole union, endowed with the power of 
taxation, it must be an assembly representing the American 
people just as the assembly of a single state represented the 
people of the state. 

"As soon as this point became clear, it was seen to be 
necessary to thi'ow the Articles of Confederation overboard, 
and construct a new national government. As was said above, 
our Federal Congress is not descended from the Continental 
Congress. Its parentage is to be sought in the state legis- 
latures. Our federal government was constructed after the 
general model of the state governments, with some points 
copied from British usages, and some points that were origi- 
nal and new." [See Fisk's Ciinl Government in the United 
States, pp. 202 to 211.) 

Our National Flag:— "The flag gradually grew; it was 
a creature of circumstance; there is no record of its birth. 
The first resemblance to a flag dates from the results of Ben- 
jamin Franklin and Messrs. Harrison and Lynch. They 
were chosen as a committee to create a National Flag, and 
adopted the 'Kings Colors,' as a imion, re-united with thir- 
teen stripes, alternate red and white; showing 'that, although 
the Colonies united for defense against England's tyranny 
they still acknowledge her sovereignty.' " On Tuesday, Jan- 
uary 2, 1776, this flag was hoisted in camp at Cambrido-e, 
Mass. (now Somerville) to celebrate the organization of *he 
army, and receive a salute of thirteen guns and thirteen 
cheers. 

It seems, from what we are able to learn that the earliest 
known use of the thirteen stripes was on a banner or standard 
presented to the Philadelphia Light Horse (Light-armed cav- 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 19 



airy) in 1VV5. The stripes, which were blue and white, 
formed the union of this flag; its field was crimson, with an 
elaborate emblematic design in the center. 

The earliest naval flags showed thirteen alternate red 
and white stripes, some with a pine tree aad the phrase, "An 
APPEAL TO Heaven" upon them; others with a rattle-snake, 
with the favorite motto, "Ddx't tread ox me." 

The first recorded legislative 
action for the establishment of a 
national flag was Saturday, June 
14, 1777, and was as follows: 

'■'■Resolved, That the flag of 
the thirteen United States be 
thirteen stripes, alternate red 
and white; that the union be thir- 
teen stars, white, in a blue field 
representing a new constella- 
tion. " — Oflicially promulgated 
by the Secretary, September 3, 
1777. "Thus," says Admiral 
Preble, "full-fledged, without 
previous debate, the flag was flung, a new constellation 
among the nations." 

"The first United States flag (adopted by Congress, June 
14, 1777,) having the stars and stripes, was made, it is said, 
out of a soldier's white shirt, an old blue army overcoat, and 
a red flannel petticoat. It was hoisted by our army at Fort 
Stanwix (near Rome) New York, during Burgoyne's cam- 
paiga in 1777. Paul Jones appeir.-! to have first raised this 
flag at sea." * 

The construction of the National Flag of the United 
States, as a design from which the flag was afterward adopt- 
ed took place under the personal direction of Washington, 
aided by a committee of Congress, ["authorized to design a 
suitable flag for the nation"] at the residence of Mrs. John 
Ross, No. 239, Arch St., Philadelphia, between the dates of 
May 23, and June 7, 1777. 

* Montgomery's Leading Facts of American History, page 175, note :^. 




^iO HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 



The descendants of Mrs. Ross claim that a Committee of 
Congress, accompanied by General Washington, engaged her 
to make the flag from a rough drawing, which at her sugges- 
tion was re-drawn by General Washington with pencil, in her 
back parlor. 

The stripes of the flag arc said by some to have been 
probably borrowed from the Dutch, othex'S find their model 
in the flag of the East India Company, and yet othei's think 
they were taken from the stripes on tlie coat of the soldier. 
The Continental Army being witliout uniform the different 
gi-ades were designated by tttriju'S or ribbons. The bars of 
Great Britian's flag, representing that country's divisions, of- 
fered a suggestion that to represent thirteen colonial divis- 
ions, thirteen stripes, alternating red and white would be 
necessary. 

Concerning the design of the stars for the union of the 
flag, Admiral Preble in his "History of the United States 
Flag," says: 

"Our revolutionary fathers, when originating a flag, no 
doubt met with difliculty in finding a device at once simple, 
inspiriting, and easily manufactured. The number of States 
whose unity was to be symbolized was a stumbling block. 
The stripes represented them; but what could be found to re- 
place the crosses emblematic of the union of the kingdoms of 
Scotland and England, whose authority they had renounced? 
The rattle-snake, which had been used for a time as a symbol 
of the necessity of union and defiance, rather than of union 
itself, was repulsive to many, from being akin to the tempter 
of our first parents, and the cause of their expulsion from 
Pai'adise, bearing also the curses of the Almighty. One of 
the best devices significant of union was a circle of thirteen 
mailed hands issuing from a cloud, and grasping as many 
links of an endless chain. An instance of this device existed 
in the flag or colors of a Newburyport company, on exhibi- 
tion in the National Museum at Philadelphia in 18 "76. It 
had a pine tree in the center of the surrounding links. A 
mailed hand, grasping a bundle of thirteen arrows, had been 
a device used by privateers, but that was a siain of war and 



MIS CELL AXY OF THE VXITED STATES. 21 

defiance rather than of union and power. A knot with thir- 
teen floating ends was the beautiful device, signifying 
strength in union, of the standard of the Philadelphia Light 
Horse. A checkered union of blue and white or blue and 
red squares might have answered, but the odd number of the 
colonies prevented that or any similar arrangement. Thir- 
teen terrestrial objects, as eagles, bears, trees, etc., would 
have been absurd, and equally so would have been thirteen 
suns or moons; besides the crescent was the chosen emblem 
of Mohammedanism, and therefore unfitted to represent a 
Christian people. Thirteen crosses would have shocked the 
sentiment of a portion of the people, who looked upon the 
cross as an emblem of popish idolatry. There remained on- 
ly the stars and the creation of a new constellation to repre- 
sent the rising republic. No other object, heavenly or ter- 
restial, could have been more appropriate. They were of 
like form and size, typifying the similarity of the several 
States, and grouped in a constellation representing their unity. 

"It will probably never be kuown," Admiral Preble 
goes on to say, "who actually designed our union of stars, 
for the record of Congress is silent concerning any debate on 
the subject; and no mention of it is made in any of the vol- 
uminous correspondence and diaries of the actors of that 
period." 

Admiral Preble gives a solution to a query that has been 
often asked in vain — to-wi^, why the stars on our liauner are 
five-pointed, while those on our coins jtre six-j^ointed. He 
saj's that this difference exists because the designers of our 
early coins followed the English, and the designers of our 
flag the European custom. "In the heraldic language of 
England the star has six points; in the heraldry of Holland, 
France and (Tcrmany the star is five-pointed.'" 

In a circular relating to the history of the flag of the 
United States, Lieutenant-Colonel M. I. Ludington furnishes 
the following information: 

Although the resolution establishing the flag was not 
ofticially promulgated by the Secretary of Congress until 
September ?*, 1777, it seems well authenticated that the stars 



2^2 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

and stripes were carried at the battle of the Brandywine, 
September 11, 1V77, and thenceforwa'rd during all the bat- 
tles of the Revolution. 

Soon after its adoption the new flag was hoisted on the 
naval vessels of the United States. 

The ship "Ranger," bearing the stars and stripes and 
commanded by Captain Paul Jones arrived at a French port 
about December 1, 1777, and her flag received, on February 
14, 1778, the first salute ever paid to the american flag by 
foreign naval vessels. 

The flag of the United States remained unchanged for 
about eighteen years after its adoption. By this time two 
more States (Vermont and Kentucky) had been admitted in- 
to the Union, and on January 13, 1791^, Congress enacted — 

"That from and after the first day of May, 1795, the 
flag of the United States be fifteen stripes alternate red and 
white; that the union be fifteen stars, white in a blue field." 

This flag was the national banner from 1795 to 1818, 
during which period occurred the war of 1812 with Great 
Britain. 

By 1818 five additional States (Tennessee, Ohio, Louis- 
iana, Indiana, and Mississippi) had been admitted into the 
Union, and therefore a further change in the flag seemed to 
be required. 

After considerable discussion in Congress on the sub- 
ject the act of April 4, 1818, was passed, which provided — 

First: "That from and after the 4th day of July next, 
the flag of the United States be thirteen horizontal stripes, 
alternate red and white; that the union have twenty stars, 
white in a blue field." 

Second: "That on the admission of every new State 
into the Union, one star be added to the union of the flag, 
and that such addition shall take effect on the 4th of July 
next succeeding such admission." 

The return to the thirteen stripes of the 1777 flag was 
due, in a measure, to a reverence for the standard of the Rev- 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 23 

olution;but it Avas also. clue to the fact that a further increase 
of the number of stripes Avould have made the width of the 
flag out of proportion to its length, unless the stripes were 
narrowed, and this would have impaired their distinctness 
when seen from a distance. 

A news}>aper of the time said: 

"By this regulation the thirteen stripes will represent 
the number of States whose valor and resources originally 
effected American independence, and the additional stars * * * 
will mirk the increase of the State-! since the present Con- 
stitution * * *." 

No act has since been passed by Congress altering this 
feature of the flag, and it is the same as originally adopted, 
except as to the number of stars in its union. 

In the war with Mexico the national flag bore twenty- 
nine stars in its union; during the late civil war thirty- five, 
and since July 4, 1891, forty-four stars. 

In none of the acts of Congress relating to the flag has 
the manner of arranging the stars been prescribed, and in 
consequence there has been a lack of uniformity in the mat- 
ter, and flags in the use of the public in general may be seen 
with the stars arranged in various ways. 

The early custom was to insert the stars in pai'allel rows 
across the blue field, and this custom has, it is believed, been 
observed in the Navy, at least, since 1818, at which time the 
President ordered the stars to be arranged in such manner on 
the national flag used in the Navy. 

In the army, too, it is believed, the stars have always 
been arranged in horizontal rows across the blue field, but 
not always in vertical rows; the effect, however, being about 
the same as in the naval flag. 

Hereafter there will be no difference in the arrangement 
of the stars between the Army and Navy, as an agreement 
has been arrived at between the War and Navy Departments 
on the subject. 

Since July 4, 1891, the arrangement of stars in the flags 



?..k jriSTOlilCAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 



of the army and ensigns in the navy is as follows: 



***** -^ ^ 
******* 

******* 
******* 

******** 



The national Hags hoisted at c-amjis or forts are made of 
Ixmting of American manufacture. 

They are of the following three sizes: The storm and 
recruiting flag, measuring eight feet in length by four feet 
two inches in width; the garrison Hag, measuring thirty-six 
feet in length, by twenty in width; (this Hag is hoisted only 
on holidays and great occasions.) The union is one-third of 
the length of the flag and extends to the lower edge of the 
fourth red stripe from the top. 

The national colors carried by regiments of infantry and 
artillery and the battalion of engineers, on parade or in bat- 
tle, are made of silk, and are six feet six inches long and six 
feet wide and mounted on staffs. The field of the colors is 
thirty- one inches in length and extends to the lower edge of 
the fourth red stripe from the top. 

The sizes of the flags used in the Army and Navy are 
not fixed by law, but are prescribed by Army and Navy reg- 
ulations. 

The Phkt<;ian or Liukrty Cap Ixsignia. — It will be 
noticed that in many illustrations the Phrygian or Liberty 
Cap ensigns the National colors, and that in several State 
Seals it ensigns a staff supported by the figure of Libei'ty. 
[See Seals of New York, North Carolina, New Jersey and 
a few others, and the United States flag, as illustrated in 
dictionaries and cyclopedias.] 

Upon a little investigation we learn that there is no law 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



or ;inthority t(i onsig-ii tlie Uii'tel States H;io- with the Pliry- 
o'ian Va\)\ nor is there any record in tiie War Departiiient 
showinj^' how or when the Ciistoni of |)hu■in^■ the C'aji upon 
t1a<4--stalVs in tlie early liistory oi" the I'nite.l States was estab- 
lished. 

'I'he origin of the use ol' the I'liryi^ian or Liberty ('a|) in 
connc'ctiou w ith llags or eolors is said to date back to th(> 
year a. d. 44. l^ondon, Kngland, was then governed by a 
RoiniUi prefeet, and the niagistrates had over their tribunal 
or judgment seats a Phrygian C;U). The staff which su])- 
]>orted the Cap was blue (the color of the Roman ])eo])le and 
arni\ ) and purple (re[)resentiiig t!ie II juiaii Senate and iiol)il- 
itv.) These colors were represi'iited like twisted ribl)ons. 
By putting on the '-Liberty Cap," the ])rerect was eni])Ower- 
ed to free a slave. {See I^r<').'<'\-< ''7',/r E/a// of tjw E nit id 
Statrs,'' p. 119.) 

TiiK Presii)EXt"'s FlA(;. — The President's thig is an of- 
licial flag that is displayed oidy in honor of the President of 
the United States. Its body is dai-k blue; it has a white ea- 
gle with outstretched wings, and in his claws a shield. 
Above the national bird and between liis wings are seven 
white stars, and beneath, three on either side of him, — thir- 
teen, emblematic of the original states. It floated over the 
ofiicial vesscd unnumbered times as it sailed up and down the 
Potomac with President Washington on board, and its de- 
sign remains unchanged. 

The Great Seal of the United States. — The origi- 
nal^ word aiyillunt, now translated into seal, is the diminu- 
tive of si(//ii(/it, defined as "a little image or figure'''' — by 
wdiich means records, statutes, etc., in all civilized countries 
are authenticated. In the British museum are twenty-tive 
thousand specimens of seals, including those of ancient 
Egypt, formed in clay. The senls of the middle ages were in 
gold, silver, lead and other substances. The bull from w hich 
the sovereign of England derives the title of "Defender of 
the Faith" is authenticated by a golden seal. Lead was more 
common for the papal bull — so-called from the bulla or seal 
appended. After the coming of the Normans, the kinos 



JO 



JlI.STOlUrAL AXJ) (iKOdRAPIIICAL 




DESKiNS PRESENTKi) FOK THE INITKI) STATES SEAT.'. 

and chief men used wuxen seals Avith ^'a hair from the head 
or beard in the wax as a token." * 

Shortly after the Declaration of ludenendence, Congress 
appointed a committee to prepare a seal for the infant repnb- 
lic; and Franklin, Adams and Jefferson employed a Swiss art- 
ist, Du Simitiere, to furnish designs and to illustrate such 
suggestions as were made by the conuuittee. The artist 
produced a device consisting of a shield supported on one 
side by the (ioddess of Liberty, and on the other by a rifle- 
man in hunting costume. The shield bore the armorial en- 

* E. T. Laiiflcriu Miitia/.ine ot Ainorican History, nay— June. I8!)ri, 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 27 

signs of the countries from which America had mainly 
drawn her population. 

Franklin proposed for the device Moses lifting his wand 
and dividing the red sea with the waters destroying Pha- 
raoh's hosts, borrowing the motto from Cromwell, "Rebellion 
to tyrants is obedience to God." 

Adams proposed the choice of Hercules; the hero lean 
ing on his club, with Virtue pointing to her rugged moun- 
tains on one hand and Sloth trying to persuade him to follow 
her flowery path on the other. 

Jefferson suggested the children of Israel in the Wilder- 
ness, led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. On 
the reverse he proposed to place representations of Hengist 
and Horsa, the Saxons from whom we are descended, and 
whose political principles are the founlation upon which our 
government is built. 

As a sort of compromise, Franklin and Adams asked 
Jefferson to combine their ideas in a compact description of 
the proposed seal, which he did in a paper now in the office 
of the Secretary of State at Washington. 

This composite design is a shield with six quarterings, 
which display the rose, the thistle and the harp; emblematic 
of Englan I, Scotland and Ireland; the lilies of France, the 
imperial eagle of Germany and the crowned i*ed lion of Hol- 
land. This was Du Simitiere's idea. 

The shield was bordered with a red ground, displaying 
thirteen gold stars linked by a chain bearing the initials of 
the states. The supporters were the Goddess of Liberty in 
a corselet of armor, in allusion to the then state of war, ana 
tlie Goddess of Justice with sword and balance. The crest 
was the eye in a radiant triangle, and the motto, E Plurihus 
Uninn. Around the whole were the words, "Seal of the 
United States, MDCCLXXVI. ;" reverse: Pharaoh pass- 
ing through the Red Sea in his chariot in pursuit of the Is 
raelites; Moses standing on a shore illumined by rays from a 
pillar of fire in a cloud. Motto, "Rebellion to tyrants is 
obedience to God." 

It seems that no part of Adam's classic allegory was em- 
bodied ill this (lovicc. 



38 HISTORICAL AND GlJiXUiAPIIKA L 



lie (■< III 



iiiiMitlcc rc|><)r1cil In llic ( 'mit iiiental Cuny-ress on 
tlir lentil (»f Aii.uiist. ITTf,. l.iit f..r soiiii' iVMSoii tlic affair 
was not placed on rcL-.oi- 1. On Mar.-li -'4, ITT'.t, Mr. Lnell 
of Massat-hnsetts, ^fr. Seott of Virginia, and Mr. lloiistoun of 
(Ti'oru,ia wore ai>})ointed to make anotlu>r design. Karly in 
Alav these ijeiitlenien re]ior1(Ml in favor of a si-al foui- incdies 
in diameter; a shield with thirteen diaii-onal reil and white 
stripes witli, for suiijiorU'rs, Peace with an olive brancli an 1 
a warrior with a drawn sworl. Motto, Jii-U.i I'll pace, — For 
-war or peace. The reve;-^e side was to rejiresent I^iberty 
seated in a (diair holding- cap and staff. 'dotto, Si^iiijicr — 
Fort'Vt'r; and nndci-neath. the date. 

The rejioi-t was snhmitted, and resubmitted with sliu'lit 
modilications, hut w.is not acce{)ted; and so the matter rested 
until .V]»ril, ITSj!, when ]\iiddleton, Boudinot and Kutlel^e 
were a]ipointed a tldrd committee to ))re]iare a seal. l>ut 
their work seems to have resulted in failure to satisfy Con- 
gress, and on dune thirteenth of the same year the whole 
nnxtter was iinally referred hy tliat hoily to Charles 'I'homson, 
its secretary. 

lie jirocured several devices, amoiio- them an elaf)orate 
one by William Barton of Philadelphia, but none of tliem 
i7iet with congressional a])proval until John Adams, then in 
Ivon(h>n, sent iiini a design sti.i;-o-ested by Sir John Prestwich, 
an Enu'lisliman, wlio was a warm friend of America and an 
accomplislied antiquarian. 

TJie design was accejjtcd; and thus, after six years of 
fruitless effort on the ]>art of our own countrymen, we be- 
came indebted for our Jiational arms to a titled aristocrat of 
the kingdoiu with which we were then at war. * 

The following is a description of the die of iss."), which 
is a ];erfect representation of the seal a.s ])rovided by the 
committee in 1 78-2: f 

* Friiiicis /iiii'i Stniij', in Voiit'n's i^iini^aiiin'.i, M-iroh it, \fX\. 

t KXPI.ANATION or Hia!/X!.I)!C Tl'lOIS ITSKI) IN THE DkSCHIPTIONS OF 

Diivici's Fou A Skat.. 
Achiovpt)K>iit--:i rnniploro lier.il(li<5 CDinposition. 

Ar.i;ciit- tlio motal r-ihov. ropresontod convciUioniilly Ity a plain white 
Slll'!':u;t'. 

Azure the tinctiiii' liliic: in on'jr;nin}r roprosfiitod l>y shiidiiisis in liDri/.oii 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATE IS. 29 

tal lines. 

Barry— flividert with bars. 

Canton— a part of the chief cut "'(1' on either the loft or right hand uppor 
corner, bounded by straight, vertical, and horizontal lines. 

Charged— bearing a charge, or fl^siire on the escutcheon. 

Chief— head or upper part of escutcheon from side to side, cut off horizon- 
tally iy a straight line, and containing properly one-third part of the dimen- 
sions of the escutcheon. 

Chevrons— bars, as the rafters of the roof leaning against one another. 

Coupe— cut otr evenly. 

Crest— part of the achievement borne outside of and above the escutcheon. 

Damasked— wrought with an ornamental pattern. 

Dexter— that side of a shield which is t.)ward the right of the one bearing 
it braced or fitted upon the arm . 

Displayed — ha>-ing the wings e.xpau'led. 

Kscuicheon —surface up</n which are charged a person's armorial bearings 
other than the crest, motto, supporter , etc., which are borne separately. 

Fcss— a bearing bounded by two horizontal lines across the field which reg- 
ularly contain between rh'-m one-third of the escutcheon. 

Glory— circle of gold ; Sort of crown !nade with rays, leaving a circular 
< pen space in the n-iddle. 

Gules — the tincture red; in representations without color, as in drawing or 
engraving, indicated by vertical lines drawn cl >se togeiher. 

Legend — inscription. 

Or— one of the tinctures, the metal gold, oft.Mi represented by a yellow col - 
or, and in engraving conventionally by dots upon a white ground. 

Ordinaries— common bearings usually bounded by straight lines— the old- 
est bearings. 

Paleways— divided into equal parts by perpendicular lines. 

Pal e— a perpendicular stripe in an escutcheon. 

Proper— having its natural color or colors. 

Quarter— one of the four parts into which a shield is divided by quartering. 

Kiiuge- red. 

Sable— black ; one of the tinctures; represented when the colors are not 
shown, as in engraving, by a fine net work of verticle and horizontal lines. 

Saltier— an ordinary, in the form of St. A.ndrew's cross, formed by two 
bands, dexter and sinister, crossing ea9h (ther. 

Sanguinated— stained with blood. 

Seme— covered with small bearings forming a pattern over the surface. 

Shield— the shield-shaped escutcheon used for displays of arms. 

Sinister— left-hand side of the person who carries the shield on his arm 
therefore the right-hand side of spectator. 

Supporter— the representaticm of a living creature accompanying the es- 
cutcheon, and either holding it up or standing beside it, as if to keep or guard 
it.— [E. T. Lander ow Cheat Seal in Magazine ov American HihTOitY For 
May— June, 1893. 

We add the explanation that the term, tinctcrk in heraliiy, indicates the 
color of the tield,— i. e. the surface of the shield ordesign used Tinctures are 
either (1) metal, (2) color strictly so called, or (JJ) fur. There aretwo mecals us- 
ed in heialdry— gold termed ok, and silver, argent — represented in painting 
by yellow and white. There are five colors used in heraldry, viz.: red, bhie, 
black, green and purple, distinguished respectively, by the terms, gules, 
AZURE, SABLE. vEKT and PURPURE. There were originally only two furs, Er<- 
MiNEandvAiR. The former is represented by black spots resembling those 
of the fur of the atiimal called the ermihc, on a white ground. Vair is said to 
have been taken from the fur of a squirrel, bluish-gray on the back and white 



30 IIISTORIVAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

"Arms: Paleways of thirteen pieces, argent and gules; 
a chief a/ure; the escutcheon on the breast of the American 
eagle displayed proper, holding in his dext3r talon an olive 
l)ranch, and in his sinister a bundle of thirteen arrows, all 
proper; and in his beak a scroll inscribed with the motto: 
E Plukibus Untm. ("Many in one;" — many States in one 
confederation.) 

"For the Crest: Over the head of the eagle, which ai> 
pears above the escutcheon, a glory, or, breaking through a 
cloud, proper, and surrounding thirteen stars, forsuing a con- 
stellation, argent, and on an azure Held. 

"Reversk. a pyramid'anfinished. In the zenith an eye 
in a triangle, surrounded with a glory, proper; over the eye 
these words, Annuit CvEptis. {"God has favorei the un- 
dertaking.") On the base of the pyramid the numerical let- 
ters, MDCCLXXVI, and imderneath the following motto: 
Xovus OrdoSkclorum." ("A series of ages," denoting that 
a new order of things had commenced in this western world.) 

The interpretation of these devises is as follows: "The 
escutcheon is composed of the chief and pale, the two most 
honorable ordinaries. The pieces pales represent the several 
states, all joined in one solid, compact entire supporting a 
chief which unites the whole and represents Congress. The 
pales in the arms are kept closely united by the chief, and 
the chief depends on that union, and the strength resulting 
from it for its support, to denote the confederacy of the 
United States of America and the preservation of their union 
through congress. 

"The colors of the 2)ales are those used in the flag of 
the United States of America; white signifies purity and in- 
nocence; red, hardiness and valor; and blue, the color of the 
chief, signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice. 

"The olive branch and arrows denote the power of peace 
and war, which is exclusively vested in Congress. The con- 
stellation denotes a new State taking its place and rank 
among the sovereign powers; the escutcheon is borne on the 

on the belly, and expressed hy Mue and white shields, or bells In horizontal 
rows, the bases ot the white resting on the bases of fie blue. For further in- 
terpretation of heriildic torms see Herat-drv in any accepted cyclopedia. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 31 

hrcast of the American eagle without any other supporters, 
to denote that the United States of America ought to rely on 
their own virtue. 

"Reyeese. The pyramid signifies strengtli and dura- 
tion; the eye over it and the motto allude to the many and 
signal interpositions of Providence in favor of the American 
cause. The dates underneath is that of the Declaration of 
Independence; and the words under it signify the beginning 
of the new era, which commences from that date." 

■ * The seal had been adopted by Congress less than six 
months previous to the signing of the preliminary treaty of 
peace with Great Britian, in 1782. It appears on a commis- 
sion dated September 16, 1782, granting full power and au- 
thority to General Washington to arrange with the British 
for the exchange of prisoners of war. After the ratification 
of the Constitution, this seal was formally declared, on Sep- 
tember 15, 1789 — when the Department of State was orga- 
nized—to be the seal of the United States. 

"Sec. 3. * * * That the st^al heretofore used by 
the United States in Congress assembled shall and hereby is 
declared to be the seal of the United States." * * * Its 
custody was subsequently given to the Secretary of State, 
■who is empowered to aflix it to commissions, etc., which 
have received the signature of the President. 

Sec. 4. Anrl belt further enacted, thsit the t-aidSecretarv shall keep the 
said seal and shall make out and record and shall alBx thesMid seal to all civil 
commissions to officers of the United Siates t:) be app liiited by and with the 
advice and consent f)f the Senate, or bj' the President aione, Pr<)\idcd that the 
said seal shall not be affixed to any commissi, ;n before the same shall have 
been signed bj' the President of the United States, nor to any other instrument 
or act without the special warrant of the President therefor. 

All other legal instruments than commissions and exe- 
quators require a separate warrant signed by the President, 
authorizing a seai to be used. As a consequence of the ex- 
panded duties of the government, the seal of the United 
States is no longer attached by the department of state to 
the commissions of oflicers who are under some other depart- 
ment. This is a gradual change, beginning with the act of 
March 18, 1874, by which the commissions of postmasters 

* E. T. Lander, loc. cit. 



',2 JIISTOIilCAL AND GEOGRAPIIUJAL 



are made out under the seal of the Postt>ffice Department. 
By the act of March 3, 1875, the commissions of officers of 
the Interior De])artment were transferred to that Depart- 
ment; and by the act of August 8, 1888, the ai)i)ointment of 
all judicial officers, marshals, and United States attorneys 
Avere ordered to be made under the seal of the department of 
justice. The United States seal is affixed to the commis- 
sions of cabinet officers, and to those of diplomatic and con- 
sular officers nominated by the President and confirmed by 
the senate; to all ceremonious communications from the 
President to the heads of foreign governments; treaties, con- 
ventions, and formal agreements of the President with for- 
eign powers; pardons, commutations of sentence to offenders 
convicted before courts of tlie United States; proclamations 
by the President; all exequators to foreign consular offices in 
the United Slates appointed by the heads of governments 
which they represent, and to warrants by the President in 
cases of extradition. 

The api)lication of a Great Seal was inherited from Eng- 
land, whose seal is pendant with ribbon. The description of 
the device indicates a seal pendant, with ribbon, correspond- 
ing to. the English custom; since 1869 a plaque seal has been 
used instead. A thin white wafer affixed to the surface of 
the document, at the left of the President's signature, re- 
ceives the impression of the seal. This is used upon treaties 
as well as all other documents to which the seal is appended. 
The method is favored on account of greater facility in the 
use of the wafer impression than with the pendant die, and 
because of the security which it gives, as the impression can- 
not be removed without mutilation of the document; while a 
pendant affixed by a ribbon to which the seal is impressed, 
in the manner customary in other countries, can be easily de- 
tached through intent or accident. * 

The reverse of the seal has never been cut, and no rea- 

* To constitute a valid seal at the oummon law there must be a tenacious 
substance adhering to the p'lpei- or parchment, and an imoression made upon 
it. An impression madi- ill the mattn'ial of the paper itsolt is sulflcient. The 
old comiiion law definition of a seal isth:it given by Lord Coke: "Sigillum est 
ccra imprussa." But it has long been held that instead of wax a wafer or oth- 
er tenacious substance on which an impression is or may be made a good seal. 



3IISCELLAN'Y OF THE UXITEB STATES. 33 

seems to be forthcoming, although the act plainly directs au 
obverse aud reverse, or the use of a double die; so that the 
present procedure seem technically illegal; it is certainly not 
authorized by law, that one half of the seal shall do duty 
for the whole. 

There have been three different dies of the Great Seal 
of the United States cut, viz: the die of 1782, the die of 
1.S41 and that of 1885. 

The cutter of the seal die of 1782 and 1841 is unknown; 
that of 1885 by authority of Act of Congress, July 7, 1884, 

"To enable thf Secretary of stale to obtain dies of the obverse and re- 
verse of the Seal of the Unitei States and ihe appliances necessary for maklfcgr 
impressions from, and forthe preservation oC tame, one thousand dollars" 

was entrusted to Tiffany and Company of New York; the 
work in its heraldic and legal correctness devolving upon 
Mr. James Hortou Whitehouse, 

The die-sinker of 1782 and that of 1841 were cut in brass, 
that of 1885 in the finest steel; the seal die is three inches in 
diameter and weighs one pound six ounces. 

It is used in a screw press. The plate on which the 
paper is placed to receive the im])ression is of bronze. By 
au ingenious mechanism the impression can now be made 
with the eagle "head up;" in the former press with bulky 
documents this could not be done. 

Great Seals of Individual States. — The designs for 

State Seals are usually suggested by events in the Territorial 

' history of the states, by the principles espoused by the new 

state governments, or by the stati's commercial and industrial 

resources and prosperity. 

The design of each of the State Seals bears an interest- 
ing significance; but we can only take space to present the 
illustration and description of two State Seals, viz.: New 
York and South Dakota. 

We select these States for the reason that the design of 
the New York Seal was originated in the early history of our 
Republic, and that of South Dakota in recent times, illustra- 
tiug the phenominal and substantial development of the West. 

In many of the Seals of states, admitted to the Union in 
the early history of the country, appears the figures of Liber- 



SJf JHSTOEICAL AND GEOGRAPHKJAL 

ty and Justice, with the heraldic device of arms. We have 
outgrown this lieraldic sentiment, that was once appropriate, 
and are now inclined to substitute designs representative 
of the characteristic resources of new states. 

The State of Washington receives its name in honor of 
General George Washington; and the design of the State Seal 
is the vignette of Washington, as a central figure, surrounded 
hy the words, "The Seal of the Spate of WASHixcrroN" 
and the figures, "ISS!)." Such a design is certainly in 
harmony with modern usage. 

Tt is probable thnt the fiijurediead of Libertv, as it ai)- 
])ears on our coins, will be superseded in a few years, by the 
vignettes of some of our public men, who have been promi- 
nent factors in the history of the country. 

Keav York 
Passed May 20, 1S82; three- 
fifths being present. 

The People, of tit i' State of yet r- 
York, represented in Seiiote tiitd 
AsxetnbJy, do enact osfoJIotrs: 

Sectiox. 1. The device of 
this state as adopted March sixteenth, 
seventeen hundred and seventy-eight, is hereby declared to 
be coiTectly described as follows: 

CiiARciK. Azure, in a landscape, the sun in fess, rising 
in splendor, or, behind a range of three mountains, the mid- 
dle one the highest, in base, a ship and a sloop under sail, 
passing and about to meet on a river, bordered below by a 
shore fringed with shrubs, all propei*. 

Crest. On a wreath, azure and or, an American eagle, 
proper, rising to the dexter, from a two-thirds of a globe 
terrestrial showing the North Atlantic ocean with outlines of 
its shores. 

Supporters. On a quasi compartTuent formed by the 
extension of the scroll. 

Dexter. The figure of Liberty proj)er, her hair dishev- 
eled and decorated with ))earls, vested azure, sandaled gules, 
about the waist a cincture or, fringed cules, a mantle of the 




3ns CELL ANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 35 



last depending from the shoulders behind to the feet, in the 
dexter hand a staff ensigned with a Phrygian cap or, the sin- 
ister arm eiubowed, the hand supporting the shield at the dex- 
ter chief point, a royal crown by her sinister foot dejected. 

81XISTER. The figure of Justice proper, her hair di- 
sheveled and decorated with pearls, vested or, sandaled, cinct- 
ured and mantled as Liberty, l>()und about the eyes with a 
fillet proper, in the dexter hand a straight sword hilted or, 
erect, resting on the sinister chief point of the shield, the 
sinister arm embowed, holding before her her scales proper. 

Motto. On a scroll below the shield argent, in sable 
Excelsior. 

South Dakota. 
The Seal of South Dakota as 
adopted by the State Legislature is 
described as follows: — A circle 
>vithin which appears in the left 
ioreground a smelting furnace and 
other features of mining work. In 
the left background a range of hills. 
In the right foreground a farmer at 
his plow. In the right background a herd of cattle and a 
field of corn. Between the two parts thus described appears 
a river bearing a steamboat. Properly divided between the 
upper and lower edges of the circle appears the legend "Un- 
der God the People Rule," which is the motto of South Da- 
kota. Exterior to this circle and within a circumscribed 
circle api)ears in the upper part, the words "State of South 
Dakota," In the lower part the words "Great Seal," and 
the date in Arabic numerals of the year in which the State 
was admitted to the Union. 

The United States Motto: "E Pluribus Unum." 
— The motto of the United States, as a motto, no doubt is 
due to the introduction on a design for the Great Seal as 
presented by the committee, Benjamin Franklin, John 
Adams and Thomas Jefferson, August 10, 1776. Its api)li- 
cation at that time being significant. 

Preble's "History of the Flag'" (jtage 482) is tlie oiilv 




36 HISTORICAL AND GEOGIiAFIIICAL 



reference of a tracing as to a probable derivation of the 
]>hrase that seems to be in print. At about the time of the 
Revolution; the Gentleman'' s 3Ia(jazine had a popular circu- 
lation in .the colonies; the motto of its title page suggested 
it. The title to the lirst volume of the Gentleman'' s Maga- 
zine, ITSI, has the device of a hand grasping a bunch of 
Howers, and the motto E Pluribus Unvm; and with this 
number the motto disappears, being followed by Prudesse et 
Delectare ("to benefit and to delight") on subsequent num- 
bers, until reappearing on the second volume (1732) combined 
Proilesne et Delectare [device of a hand grasping a bouquet] 
E Pluribus Unwn — and thus continued on the title page until 
1S88, when discontinued. 

It occurs in a Latin i)oem ascribed to Virgil, called 
Moretnm. It is a description of an ancient Italian peasant's 
morning meal with incidental suggestions of his mode of life 
generally. The Moretuia is a species of pottage made of 
herbs and cheese, which with the help of his servants he con- 
cocts before dawn; he grin Is up the various materials with a 
pestle, then, says the poet: [Line 103.] 

It Hiatus in g-yriim, pauUatam sinj?ula vivre?, 
Dependunt propries; color est E I'luribus Unum. 

[Lippincott's Magazine February, IBuS.J 

See "U. S." by Alalcolm Tovnsend. 

National Sobriquets. — Brother Jonathan. — When 
General Washington, after being apppointed Commander of 
the Army of the Revolutionary War, went to Massachusetts 
to organize it, he found a great want of ammunition and 
other means of defense; and on one occasion it seemed that 
no means could be devised for the necessary safety. Jona- 
than Trumbull, * the elder, was then Governor of Connecti- 

* Note that there were two Jonathsiu Tiunilmlis, aiifl both Go\eruor.s of 
Connecticut. Jonathan Trumbull, LLI")., the orig'inal "Brother Joiisithan," 
was born in Lebanon, Conn , Oct, 12, 17)0, died there Aur. IT, ITSj. H .^ was 
elected to the t<-eneral assembly of (Connecticut in 17o3, and became speaker of 
that body in lTli9. He was chosen an assistant in K40 and was re-elected 'ii 
times. In 17()T and 1TG8 he was elected deputy governor and in 1TC9 h'^ was 
elected governor of the colony, which olfice ho held till 1783, when he resig-ned. 
Jonathan, his son, was born in Lebanon, Conn., March 26, 1740, and 4ied jhere 
Aug. 7, 1S09. In 1780 he became secretary and first aide-de-camp of Washington, 
with whom he remained till the close of the war. In 1796 he was elected \W.\i- 
tenant aovernor of Connecticut and governor in 1797, which ortice he held till 
time of his death. John Trumbml, the American painter, was a brother of the 
younger Jonathan. See T. W. Stewart's "Life of Jonathan Trumbull, sen." 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 37 

cut; and the General, placing the greatest reliance in His 
Excellency's judgement, remarked, "We must consult Broth- 
er Jonathan on the subject." The General did so, and the 
Governor was successful in supplying many of the wants of 
the army; thenceforward when difficulties arose, and the 
army was spread over the country it became a by-phrase, 
"We must consult Brother Jonathan," so that the name be- 
came a designation for tlie country as a counter part of "John 
Bull" for England. 

UxcLE Sam. — Immediately after the declaration of war 
with England in 1812, Elbert Anderson, of New York, then 
a contractor, visited Troy where he purchased a large quan- 
tity of i)rovisions. The inspectors of these articles at that 
l>lace Avere Ebenezer and Samuel Wilson. The latter gentle- 
man (universally known as "Uncle Sam") generally superin- 
teiuled in person a large number of workmen, who on this 
occasion were employed in overhauling the provisions pur- 
chased by the contractoi'. The casks were marked "E. A. — 
U. S." Their inspection fell to the lot of a facetious fellow 
who, on being asked the meaning of the mark, said he did 
not know unless it meant Elbert Anderson and Uncle Sam, 
alluding to Uncle Sam Wilson. The joke took among the 
workmen, and passed currently; eventually being adopted 
synonymous with "Brother Jonathan." 

Derivation of "Yankee." — The derivation of the 
term Yankee is attributed to several sources. We give two 
which are most currently accepted. The exact original in- 
troduction of the term into the English will forever remain 
a mystery. 

I. "A farmer of Cambridge, Mass., named Jonathan 
Hastings, who lived about the year 17 1:5, used it, as a favor- 
ite cant woi'd to express excellence, as a Yankee good horse, 
or, Yankee good cider. The students of the college hearing 
him use it a great deal adopted it and called him Yankee Jon- 
athan; and as he was a rather weak man the students, when 
they wished to denote a character of that kind would call him 
"Yankee Jonathan." Like other cant words, it spread, and 
came finally to be a))plied to the New Englanders, as a jocose 



,W UlsT<niI('AL AXI> (iEiXrRAPlIK'AL 



]»et iianio. Since then the term has been extended to any 
Anu'ricaii of tlie Northern States." — Milttdr;/ ./(>iini<(I{ Tli<itch- 
crs)^ paoe li). 

TI. Son.e sii])i)Ose the term "Yankee" to \w the Indian 
corruption of Kns>-lisli or tlie French word Aii(il<iix\ tlnis 
Ye)iij<'>.->., Venuliis. Vanghis, Yankees. 

Yankee Doodle. — > 'The story runs tliat 'Yankee Doo- 
dle' was composed by a British ofhcer of the Kevohuion with 
a view to ridicule the Americans, who, by the English bloods 
of that time, by way of derision, were styled Yankees." — ///x- 
fnrlrdl Colh'ffi'Hi^t (1)1 I J[i>nf]ih/ Liii,rai->i JoiiriKil^ Vol. III. 

''Among the clnl) of wits that belonged to the British 
armv there was a [diysician attached to the staff (175.5) by 
the name of Dr. Shackburg, who combined with the science 
of the suroeon the skill and talents of a musician. To })lease 
Brother Jonathan he composed a tune, and with much gravi- 
ty, recommended it to the officers as one of the most celebra- 
ted airs of martial music. The joke took, to the no small 
amusement of the British corps. Brother Jonathan exclaijn- 
ed it was 'nation tine,' and in a few days nothing was heard 
in the provincial camp but the air of 'Yankee Doodle." Lit- 
tle did the author or his coadjutors then su])pose that an air 
made for the purpose of levity and ridicule should ever be 
marked for such high destinies. In twenty years from that 
time out national mandi inspired the hearts of the heroes of 
Bunker Hill, and in less than thirty Lord Cornwallis and his 
axmy marched into the American lines to the tune of 'Yan- 
kee Doodle.' " — /"Vo/y/ (tiiohljih' of tlx- Alhnnii Sfiitt'.'miiin, 
edited hy N^. G. Carter. E)i(j. 

"Parson Junior" says in the United States Miajiiziiw 
and Demovr (it ic Review \yo\. V. pp. 218-221, published by 
Langtree and O' Sullivan in 1839] that "Y'ankee Doodle" is 
of classic origin, and that it was chanted by the tuneful sons 
and daughters of Miletus, certainly in the days of Herodotus, 
and perhaps in those of Homer. [Considerable matter of 
interest on this topic maybe found in Townsend's " ?^\ X.," 
pp. 4:55-41.] 



PART II. 



It/ United States. 




An Historical and Geographical Miscellany of t United States. 




COMPILED BY JESSE W. BONNELL. 



PART II. 

Outline of the Territorial Development of the 
United States.— Origin and Derivation of the 
Karnes of the States and their Capitals.— 
Origin of the Xieknames of the States.— Ori- 
gin of the .Yietnanies of the People of the 
States.— PI aee of first Settlement.— Mottoes 
of the States. 

Introduction. — Many of the names of the States are 
derived from the Indian and the reader will notice the sever- 
al origins from which the name may have been taken. The 
question naturally arises: Why this diversity of opinions? 
i he reason will be found in the nature and conditions of the 
Indian languaoes. "In the first place we are not to suppose 
that the various Indian tribes had but one language, or that 
the language the different tribes sjieak are necessarily re- 
lated. Very far from it. When the first white man ap- 
peared among the Indians of our country it is safe to say 
that they talked to each other of the strange apparition in 
not fewer than three huiuired different languages, and in al- 
most numberless dialects. 

"What is moi*e strange, when scholars came to classify 
these languages they discovered that they fell into nearly 
sixty groups or families, so distinct one from another that. it 
seems as though each must have had a ditt'crcnt oriu^in." 



J^2 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

(See YimtlCs Companion^ Vol. 65, No. !).) 

Again, it is difficult to represent the spoken language of 
the Indian by a written language, on account of the j)ecul- 
iarity of its grammar. "Not only the subject noun, but its 
qualities and its position, the persons, nominative and objec- 
tive, and the action of which it is the active, passive, or re- 
flective object, are all indicated in a single expression. This 
concrete character of the language gives to some of its words 
a copiousness of ex})ression which a rigid monosyllabic lan- 
guage does not possess; and the meaning conveyed by some 
single Indian words would, in the English language, require 
an entire sentence for its explanation. The great art requi- 
site is to seize upon the principles of combination. The ob- 
jection to this process of word-making is that the expressions 
are inconveniently long, which defect is not, however, ap- 
parent in an oral language, but is very strikingly developed 
when it comes to be written, — and written, as it usually is, 
without the aid of accents to guide the pronunciation. * * 
* * The languages seem to be replete with resources when 
applied to the phenomena of nature. The heavens and the 
earth appear to constitute, in the imagination of the Indian, 
a symbolic volume which even a child may read. All that 
relates to light and shade, to color and quality, to purity or 
impurity, to spirit or matter, to air or earth is blended with 
the subject noun, and is indicated at one exhalation or j^ro- 
longation of the breath, In the sky, cm the sky, or imder 
the sky; in or on the water; by or on the shore; in ov'on the 
tree; black or blue clouds; dear or muddy water; deep or shal- 
loxc streams; up the river or doiim the river; in heaven or on 
the earth, are each but single words of a simple derivative 
character. * * * Thei-e is poetiy in their very names of 
places. Ticondaroga, the place of the separation of waters; 
Dionderoga, the place of the inflowing of the waters; Sarato- 
ga, the place of the bursting out of the waters; Ontario, a 
beautiful prospect of rocks, hills and water; Ohio, the beau- 
tiful river, — these and a thousand other names which are 
familiar to the ear denote a capacity for, and the love of har- 
mony, in the collection of syllables of poetic thought." (See 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. A3 

''■The Indian Tribes of the United States, 'N oh I, Chap. III.) 

The mixture of the French language with the Indian 
and the resemblauoe in some cases of the Indian to the Span- 
ish language and also the resemblance of the roots of words, 
from various tribes, of different meanings, all have a tenden- 
cy to make the meaning and origin of many Indian deriva- 
tions doubtful. 

[Note:— In writing of the Inter- Colonial Wars we men- 
tion 'the Five Nations in one instance and the Six Nations in 
another. The terms "Five Nations" and "Six Nations" are 
only other names for the Iroquois. The name, Iroquois, de- 
notes Five Nations, for the Iroquois numl)ered iive nations 
in the beginning. In 1712 they admitted the Tuscaroras 
canton making a sixth nation; in 1723 they received a seventh 
nation and afterward an eighth, and we believe still others. 
The Ii'oquois are most commonly known as the Six Nations, 
most presumably because they consisted of six cantons or na- 
tions while figuring most conspiciously in American history.] 

In taking up the matter to be presented on individual 
states it is found most convenient to take them as they occur 
in sectional groups, beginning first with the Northeastern or 
New England States. 

New England. — Smith's General History notes, "That 
part of America in the ocean sea opposite Nova Albion in 
the South Sea, discovered by the ever memorable Sir Francis 
Drake in his voyage about the world in regard- whereof this 
is styled New England, being in the same latitude." * 

Lossing in a foot-note states, "It was so called (by Cap- 
tain John Smith) because of the resemblance that is in it of 
Enghmd, the native soil of Englishmen. It being much the 
same for heat and cold in summer and winter, it being cham- 
paign ground; but no high mountains, somewhat like the 
soil in Kent and Essex; full of dales and meadow grounds, 

* The Pacific Ocean discovered by Balboa, was'called by him the South 
Sea, because he saw it to the south of him. 

Albion was an ancient name for England and was once supposed to mean 
the "Country of the White Cliffs," Drake saw a part of the Pacific coast of 
America, which, perhaps, reminded him of the chalk clifls of his native land 
Iience he called it Nova Albion,— Nova, New, Albion, Eng-land. 



U HISTORICAL AXI) (iEOGliAPlIIiJAL 

full of rivers and sweet springs, as P^iiglaiid is. But priiiei- 
])ally, so far as we can find, it is an island, and near al)out 
the quantity of Ensrland, cut out from the main hiixl in 
America, as Enola.id is from Europe, by a great arm of the 
sea, whicli entereth in 40", and runneth up north and west 
by west, and goeth out either iuto the South Sea or else into 
Bay of Canada. The certainty whereof and secrets of which 
we liave not yet so found as that as eye-witnesses one can 
make narration thereof; but if (iod give time and means, we 
shall, ere long, discover both the extent of that river, togeth- 
er with the secrets thereof, and so try what territories, hab- 
itations or commodities may be found either in it or al)Out 
it." The above is from an ad Iress <lelivered at Plymouth, 
in December, 1621. By the 'd^ay of Canada" is meant the 
St. Lawrence River; by the "great arm of the sea," the Ilud 
son River, an imaginary connection between the two, crea- 
ting an island. 

Maine. — The present state of Maine is made up of parts 
of territory formerly belonging to what may be said to have 
l)een the whole or parts of three different grants, viz: the 
part of Massachusetts embraced in the Sir Ferdinando 
Gorges grant, the Sir William Alexander grant and ''that 
portion west of the River Kennebec and north ofa right line 
connecting the confluence of the Kennebec and Dead Rivers 
with Lake Umbagog." 

In 1606 James L granted charters to two commercial 
companies known as the London and Plymouth Companiks, 
dividing between them "that part of America commonly 
called Virginia and other parts and territories in America 
lying between 34^ and 45^ of north latiiude, a nan-ow strip 
extending inland one hundred miles. The London Company 
liad the tract between 34'^ and 38° and the Plymouth Compa- 
ny between 41- and 45^. 

In 1620 the King reorganized the Plymouth Company 
as the Plymouth Council for New England, extending their 
charter limits from the line of the Virginia Company (40°) 
on the south to the 48° on the north and from sea to sea. 
(The Virginia Com]>any was the old London Comj)anv re- 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES, ir, 

organized unclei* their charter of 1609.) 

In 1622 Sir Ferdinando Gorges, governor of Plymouth 
in England and Captain John Mason former governor in New 
Foundland obtained a patent for the country along the coast 
of New England between the Merrimac and Kennebec Rivers, 
and back to the St. Lawrence, under the title of the "Prov- 
ince of Laconia." Mason and Gorges had agreed to divide 
their territory at the Piscataqua River and in 1629 they dis- 
solved their patent, Mason taking the country lying west of 
the Piscataqua, which he named New Hampshire; and 
Gorges took the country east of the Piscataqua, which he 
named the "Province or County of Maine." Massachu- 
setts claimed the latter territory and }»aid the Gorges heirs 
six thousand dollars for it. 

In 162l'the Council granted to Sir William Alexander, 
Earl of Sterling, the French possessions of Acadia between 
the St. Croix and St. Lawrence Rivers^, to be called "The 
Loi'dship and Barony of New Scotland." A second grant 
was made him in 1635, of the country between the St. Croix 
and the Kennebec, called Pemaql id, together with the isl- 
ands of Long, (occupied by the Dutch,) Nantucket, and Mar- 
tha's Vineyard. 

Nearly all of both the Sir Alexander grants was after- 
ward embraced in Massachusetts, and from 1696 to the time 
of the admission of Maine to the Union, in 1820, all of the 
latter (Pemaquid) grant. 

The section described as "that portion west of the Ken- 
nebec River and north of the right line connecting the con- 
fluence of the Kennebec and Dead Rivers and Lake Umbagog" 
appears never to have been in the Province of Maine, or 
Massachusetts Bay, or State of Massachusetts. "If this 
view be correct,"" says Francis R. Walker in Seventh U. S. 
Census, "then this tract was a parcel of the original public 
land of the United States as detini'd by treaty with (Treat 
Britain." 

The north-east boundary between ^hiine and New 
Brunswick was not settled till 1842, when by the A\'el)ster- 
Ashburton Treaty the I^iiited Stati's recei\ed seven-t welflhs 



Ui> IIISTOniCAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 



of the disinited territory and the Britisli settlement of 
Mad aw ask a. 

Thus, the District of Maine was a part of ^lassaehusetts 
till March 15, 1820, when it was admitted as a State. The 
act admitting the State of Maine, was a i)art of the famous 
JNlissouri Compromise. 

The first regular government establisiu-d within the hoi'- 
ders of Maine was at Saco, on March 28, l(j:Ui, by Wiiliaai 
CJorges, nephew of Sir Ferdiuando. 

Till' first settlement was made at Bi'istol by the French 
in l<)2r,. 

Different autliorities do not agree as to the origin oi the 
name, Maixk. 

Varney, [History of Maine] says, "In 16:^9 Gorges pro- 
cureil a royal grant of land extending from the Piscitaqua to 
Kennebec. The name of the territory under the new charter 
was changed to ^LiIhc in honor of the queen [lieiirietta 
Maria, wife of Charles I.] w'hose patrimonial estate, as Prin- 
cess of France, \^•as the French Province of lluijne.''' 

I Note. — Such is the prevailing impression as to the 
origin of the name; the Province of Maine in France did not 
appertain to the queen, but to the crown; nor is it discover- 
able that she possessed any interest in that province. — Jlis- 
toricdl /Soc, JF'olso)n''s Address.] 

The name was first authoritatively and deliberately ap- 
plied, and most accurately to that part west of the Kennebec 
River, in the charter granted by the great Council of Plym- 
outh to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Captain John Mason 
dated August 10, 1622, wherein it is called the "■Province 
of Maine." [This was nearly two years before the Pruic?3ss 
Henrietta was thought of for a wife to Prince Charles of 
England.] At the time this name appeared in the Charter, 
a marriage treaty was pending between Prince Charles and 
the Infanta Maria, daughter of Phili]> III. of Spain — a mar- 
riage not effected till early in the year 1624. 

The geographical features of the country w^ould tend to 
give it the name years before the Gorges-Mason charter, 
the territory being commonly designated as 77if 3[(ihi by 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. J,7 

mariners and writers; i. e., the main-land — -variously spelled, 
to distinguish it from its insular parts lying about the coast. 

The capital of the State of Maine is Augusta, which re- 
ceived its name in 1737, after the English Princess Augusta 
Charlotte, eldest grand-daughter of George II. The Indian 
nauie v^f the locality was Ci(shiinc. 

Maine is nicknamed the "Lumukr State," the inhabi- 
tants being engaged largely in cutting and rafting lumber. 
Also the "Pink-tree State," because its pine lumber is 
abundant and extensively used in the ship building industry. 

The nickname "Foxes" is locally applied to the people 
of Maine, as the lives of many of its })eople are passed in the 
woods wliich abound with foxes. 

The motto on the State Seal is yy/r/yo, meaning, "I di- 
rect. " 

New Hampshire. — This State like Maine and Massa- 
chusetts has a very intricate history, and it is impossible to 
give with any satisfaction in this connection the lull details 
of the changes in its boundaries and government up to the 
time of the adoption of the Constitution. 

Mason and Gorges who had obtained a patent for the 
country along the coast of New iingland between the Merri- 
mac and Kennebec Kivers, and bacR to the St. Lawrence un- 
der the title of the "Province of Laconia, " agreed to divide 
tiieir territory at the Piscatauqua liiver and in lH:i9 Mason 
obtained a patent for that part of tlie main land between the 
mouth of the Merrimac River, Cai^e Ann and the mouth of 
the Piscataqua, from the montb of the Merrimac River, 
through the river and up into the country sixty miles, from 
which point to cross overland to the head of the Piscat- 
aqua River, sixty miles from its mouth. He built a 
house at the mouth of the Piscataqua, in Ki^l, and nam- 
ed ttie si)Ot Portsmouth. He had l)ceii governor of Ports- 
mouth, in Hampshire county, iinglaud; and these names he 
transferred to his new territory and hrst permanent set- 
tlement. Four years afterward he died, and his widow tried 
in vain to manage his large landed estate, and it passed into 
the possession Of the retainers in payment for their services. 



JfS JIISrOEICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 



These settlers, now being left to themselves struggled along 
under many diffieulties until 1641, when they formed a union 
with the flourishing Massachusetts Colony. "Three times, 
either by their own consent or by royal authority they were 
joined in one colony and as often sei)arated," until 17 + 1, 
when New IIami)sbire finally became a distinct royal prov- 
ince and so remained until the Revolution. 

Massachusetts afterwards set up her claim to all of New 
Hampshire under the clause in its charter of 1629 making its 
iu)rthern limits three miles north of any part of the Merrimac 
River. Commissioners were chosen by the two colonies, but 
failing to agree, it was referred to the King. lie refused to 
place New Hampshire under the jurisdiction of Massachu- 
setts, deciding (1737) that the line between the States should 
run three miles north of the Merrimac and parallel to it from 
its mouth until it reached the most southerly point of its 
course, from which it should run due west until it met witii 
His Majesty's other governments. This line was run in 1741 
at which time also, the line on the Piscataqua was also 
settled.* This line, while it settled the controversy be- 
tween Massachusetts and New Hampshire, opened another 
dispute, which lasted for a quarter of a century. Fort Dum- 
mer, and the few settlements west of the Connecticut were 
found by this line not to be in Massachusetts. The King 
repeatedly called upon the New Hampshire legislature to 
make provisions for the support of Fort Dummer. The pre- 
sumption grew up that the jurisdiction of New Hampshire 
extended west as far as that of Massachusetts; that is to say 
to a line twenty miles east of the Hudson River. In the 
meantime a correspondence had arisen between the govern- 
ors of New Hampshire and New York, in which the latter, 
under an old grant from Charles II. to the Duke of York 
claimed all the land west of the Connecticut River. As, 
however, this grant would have covered the lands in Massa- 
chusetts and Connecticut west of the river and no claim had 

* The King: director representatives of both proviaces to jointly make a 
map in aoct)rclance with his general directions, but Massachusetts not obeying 
New Hampshire did the work alone; hence no strictly lea-al line exists, and a 
strip of the Morrimac valley is doubtful ground to this day. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. W 

been established against those })rovinces, the governor of 
New Hampshire paid no heed to the pretentions of New 
York. (See Vermont.) 

Townsend in his "U. S." says in reference to the aj)- 
plication of tha name New Hampshire: "This naming of 
the section was concealed by him (Mason) in his last will. 
In 1661 through discussions consequent upon the claims of 
his heirs this designation was introduced for the first time. 
After New Hampshire had been defined and named,* Laconia, 
was ti-ansferred to apply to a not very well-defined extent of 
territory lying about Lake Champlain granted by the Great 
Council to Gorges and Mason." 

Concord is the capital. Early English settlers named 
the place Rumford, after a certain Benjamin Rumford; 
changed to Concord to commemorate the exi)ression of an 
unanimity in a land controvers}'. 

New Hampshire is called the "(tRaxitk Statk," the 
mountainous portions being largely composed of granite, 
which is mined to a great extent. Also called the "Switz- 
KRLAXD or America" in reference to an imaginary simi- 
larity in mountain scenery. 

The people are alluded to as the "Granite Boys." 

This State has no motto. 

Vermont. — The early history of Vermont is the his- 
tory of the "New Hampshire grants." In 1749 Benning 
Wentworth, governor of New Hampshire, made a grant of a 
township six miles square, situated as he conceived on the 
western borders of New Hampshire, being twenty miles east 
of the Hudson River, and six miles north of the Massachu- 
setts line. This township he called Bennington. He grant- 
ed also fifteen other to^-nships; but the breaking out of hos- 
tilities between England and France })Ut a sto}» to applica- 
tions. In the meanwhile a correspondence had arisen be- 
tween the governors of New Hampshire and New York re- 
lating to New York's claim to all the land west of the Ilud- 

* Laconia is said by some to bo au adaptation of the Grecian IN>loponesia» 
country name, while others consider it to refer to the numer.ms lalves of that 
territory, or possibly to Lake Ontario, to which some authorities believe the 
frrant originallj' extended. 



.->{) UISTOJIK'AL AND (JEOGIiAPlIICAL 

son Kivcr. 

Alter the close of the French and Indian War the gov- 
ernor of New Hampshire resumed the granting of townships, 
and in tlie course of two or three years issued grants to the 
inniil>c-r of one liuudrcd and ninety-eight, llhe fees on each 
were about one luuidred dollars. In each township he re- 
s(i\C(l ti\c liimdred acres for himself, and in this mode he 
aiHMiinulatcd :i large forliiiic. These i)erquisites were emol- 
uments which Xcv\ York was determincvl iu)t tamely to re- 
lin(|uish and a war of proclamations forihw itii coninu'iiccil. 

This coiitvovcrsv, the histor\' nf wliicli would make a 
volume in itself, lastcel till 179U, when Xi'W \'ork was not 
onlv wiHiuij; l)ut anxious that Vei'mont, as the territory of 
New riam])shirc gi'ants were now known, should come into 
the Union. The position of things had (duinged, and Ver- 
mont ^vitll her two seiuUors could do New York and the 
northern intt-rest hcttci" service than if her territ<»i-y were an 
integral pai't of any other State, and could, therefore, add 
nothing to the weight of the Northern States in the Senate. 
The (jucstion of jurisdiction had long since been relintjuish- 
ed, and the only point to be determined was in regai'd to the 
conflicting land titles, and the claims of those adherents of 
New York wlio had been dispossessed and expelled from Ver- 
mont. Commissioners were ap])ointed by the two states, 
who met and defined the boundary as claimed by Vermont, 
and agreed u])on the sum of thirty thousand dollars to be 
paid by Vermont to New York for the extinguishment of the 
disputed titles; and thus put an end to the controversy which 
Lad lasted twenty-six years. * 

On March 4, 1791, Congress admitted \'ermont to the 
l^nion, it being the first state admitted under the Consti- 
tution. 

In 17 77 the inhabitants declared the territory to be an 
independent State undCr the name of "New Conxkctrtt 
(dias Vermont." Vermont, signifies "(Treen Mountain" — 
nrd, green, and monf, mountain. 

The first ])ermanent settlement in Vermont was inade in 

•* See Lippiiicott'.-; "(^iilniiot History at Vcrmuut," IWC. 



MI S CELL AX Y OL' THE UNITED ^TAIE^. ',1 

J 724 in tht' south-eastern corner, on the land now embraced 
Mitliin the town of Hrattleborongh. Tliis jxtst was called 
Fort Dumnier and was sii|)])osed, as has already been noted, 
to be Avithin the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. 

MoNTTKLiKR is the Capital, and the uaiue is from the 
French, translated a "little or lesser mountain," probably 
su<i;gested from Mont|>ellier a town in France, which receives 
its appellation from its Latin name Moiik I\s,HKJ<niii>i. 

The State is very a]ipro))riately called the "(trkkx 
MorxTAix State/' 

The people are frecpiently allude<l to as •>(ii{KK\ MoiNT- 
AiN Bovs," from livintf amony- the (xreeu .Mountains. 

The motto of Vermont is "Freedom and Fnity." 

Massachusetts. — The coast of Massachusetts was ex- 
plored by John and Sebastian Cabot in 140 7. Several at- 
tempts were made to colonize its borders, but the first suc- 
cessful one was that of the pilgrims, 102 of whom sailed from 
Plymouth, England, Sept. 6, 1620, landing on Plymouth 
Rock, Dec. 11. Its subsequent history is very complicated; 
and the early history of its boundaries and government, and 
also of its educational growth and influence needs to be stud- 
ied very carefully by earnest students of American history. 

To inspire the reader and student with the spirit of in- 
vestigation we will state that Massachusetts within its jues- 
ent boundaries has been reduced from the territorial grant 
made to the Massachusetts Bay Company in lti2!», which in- 
cluded "all the land lying between a ])oint three miles south 
of the southernmost point of the Charles liiver and Mas- 
sachusetts Bay, and three miles north of the Mcrrimac 1-Jiver 
or any part thereof, extending from the ^Vtlantic Ocean to 
the South Sea (Pacific Ocean). This grant was considerably 
prescribed by subsequent grants to other colonics. In 17h;{ 
Massachusetts, under her title of 1029, laid claim t-o all of the 
j»resent State of New York west of the Delaware b(>tween 
42^ 2' and 44^ (44- being a line drawn west three miles north 
of the source of the west braiu-h of the Mi-rrimac) and all be- 
tween the Great Lakes and the Mississij)))i from 42' 2' to 4:i- 
1")' (4:i ■ 15' l)eiiig a line due west three miles iioi'th of the in- 



52 IIISTOIilCAL AND GEOGliAPIIICAL 

flow of Lake Winuipisoegee, the eastern branch of the Mer- 
rimac. Why Massachusetts claimed 4:5- 15' in one case and 
44 in the other, our authority, Mr. ]\Iac Coun finds himself 
unable to explain.) — [The reader will find it to his interest to 
read Tovvnsend Mac Conn's little book, "Ax Historical 
GE()(iRAiMiv OF THE UxrrKi) States" at this point- It illus- 
trates by its maps what we are unable to reduce to writing.] 

The name Massachusetts is said by some to be from the 
Natic Indian word J/^/.s ^sv/.sv-;, contraction of Massa, great, 
inh-kii, mountain, ef, near, -'the ])lace of the great hills" 
[reference to the Blue Hills]. Roger Williams writes, "I 
have learned the Mi(ss<(c/ii(i«'tts were so called from the Blue 
Hills.'" Also said to come from two Indian words, iti<is and 
iretuHft, the former signifying an Indian arrow-head and the 
latter a hill; also stated that the Sachem who governed in the 
region of the landino; of the Pilarrims lived on a hill in the 
form of an arrow-head a few miles south of Boston, and call- 
ed by the natives Jf/fioetuset. 

The name is spelled on some maps Jf/ssa Chitser; Cap- 
tain John Smith spells the word MdKfiKcfiKfU't, M(ifit«(cJii'it'set, 
and MassacJiUsit. 

Thought to be from the bay called Mais l^chusaeg, 
''country this side the hills." 

Drake says, "hrst given to the country bordering upon 
Boston Bay only, or between Nantasket or Port Shirely, 
'Massachusetts fields' was the plain lying on both sides of 
Neponset River-" — 3Ialcolm Townsenirs U. S. I/uh,r. 

The capital is Boston. The name, Boston, was adopt- 
ed in honor of Boston, Lincolnshire, England, although the 
actual derivation is unknown, the most acceptable jjrobably 
being as given in honor of the native place of its original set- 
tlers Isaac Johnson and associates who were from Lincoln- 
Boston. The tracing for the word Boston elicits that in the 
seventh century a pious monk known as St. Botolph or Bot- 
holp (Boat-help) founded a church in what is now Lincoln- 
shire, in England. A town grew up around it which was 
called Botolph's Town. This was contracted into Botolph- 
ston, Bot-os-ton finally Boston. (See Nina Moore's Pilgrims 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 63 

and Puritans, pp. 92 — 105). 

Boston, Mass., owing to its hills, was ctflled by tbeElng- 
lish * Tn-mountaine or Trcmont, "three hills" (Keacon, 
Kopp und Fort Hills); at a court held in Charlestown, Sep- 
tember 17, (N. S.), 1630, "It is ordered that Trimountain 
shall be called Boston." The Indian name of the locality 
was Shawm ut, an abreviation of 3Ii/s/iancoonmt<k, being 
translated as "living fountains,'' "a place reached by wa- 
ter," "sweet water," "free lands or unclaimed lands." 

Schoolcraft notes '■'■ ShaianNt, Indian name of the penin- 
sula." It appears to be in Indian lexicography a description 
of the figure of the peninsula on which the town is situated 
separated by its narrow neck from Dorchester. This had, to 
the red man, a striking resemblance to the shape of the hu- 
man stomach, with the Pylorous attached. In the cognate 
dialect of the Chippewa Shair-ntood is the name for the 
stomach of an animal, the letter Hieing exchanged for a d. 
■ — See Townsend''s U. S. Indtx.. 

The motto of Massachusetts \)^ Ens(.' pitit plarldatn sub 
Uhertate qaieteni, "By the sword she seeks placid rest in lib- 
erty," or "Conquers a peace," or "With the swoi'd she seeks 
quiet peace under liberty." 

The sobriquet, "Baked Beans" is sonu'times applied to 
the State from a local partiality extended toward beans as a 
relish. "Baked beans and brown bread" being the regular 
Sunday meal, as it could be prei)ared on Saturday, thei'eby 
to the puritanical idea, save labor. 

"Bay" and "Old Bay State" is also a}>plied to the 
State from the name prior to the Revolution; Massachusetts 
"Bay" Colony. 

"Old Colony," is applied to that section within the 
former limits of Plymouth Colony (the original settlement.) 
One province, "Massachusetts Bay Colony," subsequently 
formed in 1692 through the union of Plymouth and Massachu- 

* Tri-raountain, or Fremoat: this name Is preserved in Treinont Street. It 
appears to have been g-iven oriffinally to the middle liiM— ileauijti Hill— because 
of its three peaks, two of which have since been r.)iinded otf. The other two 
hills were Fort Hill (since leveled) and U'pp's Hill.— .Mo."«tg(jmery'8 Leading 
Facts of .Amkrican Histoky, p 82, Notk 8. 



■>-'t 



IIISTOJilVAL AND GEOGRAFIIKJAL 



setts Bay Colonies. The latter name being preserved until 
the formation of the Union wlien the name of, '"State of 
Massachusetts" was aflo])te<l. 

The people of the State are sometimes nicknamed 
"Hcans/M'rom the State sobriquet, "Baked Beans." 

Connecticut. — This State was first settled at Wethers- 
ticld in KKU, and other settlements were established at Win- 
soi- and Hartford in H'.:).') and 1():)B by parties from different 
]);irts of Massachusetts. In l(i.?7 an independent govern- 
ment was ()i-ganized anil for nearly thirty years it was per- 
fi'ctlv independent. But with the Restoration a charter was 
necessary and tliat of KJiJ^ continued all the privileges of 
its previous constitution. James II having determined t'.) 
abrogate all the New England charters sent the royal govern- 
or, Sii- Kdmond Andros, to demand the charter of Connecti- 
cut, on which occasion the lights were suddenly put out dur- 
ing the night session of the legislature, and tjie charter seized 
and concealetl in the now famous Charter Oak.* Upon the 
accession of Williaui an 1 Mary it was resumed, and con- 
tinued in force for one hundred and twenty-nine years. 

The history of the bimularies of Connecticut is a long 
and complicated one and we refer the reader to '•'•Mac. Counts 
Historical Gecxjrajihy'''' for the details. She settled her bound- 
ary with Rhode Island in 1752. Her contest with New York 
lasted until within a few years (1881), though the line 
settled in 1683 and again in 1725 and 1737, twenty miles 
east of the Hudson, and touching the sea in latitude 41"^, 
is practically the one of to-day. Its northern line was deter- 
mined upon with Massachusetts in 1713, included in the lat- 
ter State the towns of Enfield, Suffield, Somers and Wood- 
stock. In 1747, being taxed too heavily, they a}»plied to 
Connecticut for admission into that commonwealth and Mas- 
sachusetts gracefully gave them up. 

Connecticut as early as 1753 began the extension of her 
limits westward, under her charter of 1662, which bounded 
her east by Narragansett Bay, north by the Massachusetts 

* The Charter Oak which stooil on what is now Charter Oak Place . H:irt1ord 
wrt-5 hlijwn <1 iwii ill 18.)ri; aui tho si> it is now marked bv a marble tabU;t. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 55 

Plantations (42° 2'), south by the sea and west by the South 
Sea, ignoring the presence of the Dutch. This, involving 
claims to northern Pennsylvania, led to a bitter contest of 
jurisdiction. In 17 74 so gi'eat had been the emigration that 
Connecticut organized these settlements into the County 2of 
M^extmorelaiid. The war interrupted the dispute, which 
was referred to the Continental Congress, and decided by a 
Federal Court in 1781 in favor of Pennsylvania. She, how- 
ever, still asserted her claim beyond the Western Pennsylva- 
nia line to all between 41- and 42- 2', and to the ]Mississi]>pi 
liiver. 

The State receives its ;:ame from the river, the Indian 
[MoheganJ word, (^itorMiighticot, meaning "long river," or 
as rendered by some "river of pines," by still others "land 
on a long tidal river." The Indian word is variously spelled, 
Quoncktacut, Quinni-tuk-ut, Quinetueqnet, Quenticutt. 

Schoolcraft notes Qiiinne, long, <ittu('k\ a deer, iivki\ a 
place. 

Haktford is the capital. The name was applied from 
Hertford, England, [Anglo-Saxon "army ford. "J Connecti- 
cut formerly had two capitals, Hartford and New Haven. 
The capitals were originally separate colonies, until their ac- 
ceptance of the Charter of Charles II. granted April 23, 
1662; after which the memory of this division was retained 
in the two capitals. The geographical advantages of Hart- 
ford, in being centrally located, was finally admitted by New 
Haven, so that Hartford in 1873 became the sole capital. 

The town of New Haven was originally called Qiiiiini- 
jti.ac, from the Indian name of tlie river (^>H!ini('j)y()iH//iij, 
"long w'ater place." The present name was substituted "bv 
ilie court," September 5, 1040. 

Connecticut is known as the "Land ok stkadv hahiis" 
in allusion to the staid depoi'tment of its inhabitants; also 
"Freks'I'Oxk State," from its c^uarries of freestone, used to 
a great extent for building purposes. It is best knoAvn as 
the "Nutmeg State," its inhabitants having such a reputa- 
tion for shrewdness, that they have been jocosely accused of 
palming off wooden nutmegs on unsuspecting juirchasers for 



■>0 IIISTOBICAL AND GEO GRAPHIC AL 



the genuine article. 

The motto of the state is, (^ui tr<instuUt susUnet, "He 
who brought us over sustains us" or "He who trans})h'inted 
still sustains/" 

Rhode Island. — It is supposed !)y many writers that 
Lief Erickson Avas tlie hrst voyager to visit the coast of 
Rhode Island, when he visited the New England shores in 
1001. There was no settlement made, however, until the 
coming of Roger Williams in 1636 who located at Providence. 

"As the population of Massachusetts Bay Colony in- 
creased, some for conscience sake and many more from a de- 
sire to live beyond the restraint of law, moved beyond its 
charter limits. Thus was the Providence Plantation (1636) 
under Roger Williams and Rhode Island Colony (1635) 
founded. They were united under a royal charter obtained 
in 1644. Subsequently (1664) a new cliarter was obtained, 
extending the boundaries to their present limits."" 

The origin of the name, Rhode Island, is somewhat ob- 
scure. Some suppose it to be a fanciful application, after 
the Isle of Rhodes in the Mediterranean. 

On the thirteenth of the first month 1644 the General 
Court of Elections passed the following: "It is ordered by 
this Court that the Ysland commonly called Aquethneck 
shall be fi-om henceforth called the Isle of Rhodes, or Rhode 
Island." [Colonial records give no clue as to why.] 

Some authorities say that in consequence of the reddish 
appearance of the island [because of the abundance of cran- 
berries] it was known to the Dutch as lioode [or red]. 

It is also asserted that Dutch skippers hunting in Narra- 
gansett Bay, called the island Jioodt Eylandt; the orthoei)y 
would seem to English ears very much like Rhode Island, 
and transferring the sound to their records have so construed 
it. 

It may be a corruption of the Holland Jiuel de Eglant, 
or Red Island, on account of some famous clay banks heavily 
charged with ferruginous, matter, giving this reddish ap- 
pearance. 

The Narragansett Indian name of the Island was Aquid- 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 57 

neck, variously spelled Aijidtneck, Aquitnet, Acgvidmj, mean- 
ing "peaceful isle." 

Rhode Island has two capitals, Providence and Nkw- 
oRT. The explanation as to why the State has two capitals 
^ given as follows in the Journal of Education : "Origin- 
ally it (Rhode Island) was a pure democracy. At that time 
it had five settlements, — Providence, Newport, Bristol, 
Greenwich, and Kingstowns, seriatim. Subsequently these 
towns became county seat-s. and one after another was 
dropped as a place of holding the "General Assembly/'' Fi- 
nally, long before the adoption of the Constitution, the Leg- 
islature, — still called, as now, the "General Asseniljly,'' — 
licld an annual session, by law, at Providence iu January, and 
at Newport in May, for the inauguration of the governor, the 
appointment and confirmation of executive officers, and the 
transaction of such legislative business as may be necessary; 
the session occupying but a few days, — generally a week or 
ten diiys. The State has two State-houses, one at each capi- 
tal, built many years ago, and as the custom of holding the 
"election," as it is called (really it should be named the 
'inauguration"), furnishes an opportunitv for a pleasant 
festival in the beautiful "City by the Sea," including a sail 
upon the picturesque Narragar.sett Bay, the finest Ijay in the 
world, — the good ])eo})le of this little commonwealth are 
pleased to continue this arrangement. Thus Providence and 
Newjjort still continue to be the capitals of the state of 
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations."''' 

The name, Providence, was given by Roger Williams in 
recognition of "God's merciful providence to me in my dis- 
♦^ress." The Indian name of the locality was Mooshansij^k. 

Newport was named in honor of the English admiral 
Christopher Newjiort, (under James II.) 

Rhode Island being the littlest of the States is referred to 
as "Little Riiody." The people are sometimes referred to 
as "Gux-Flixts," ai)plied through the use of fire-arms by its 
citizens at the time of the Dorr Rebellion in 1842, the arms 
being mostly of the old gun-fiint pattern, the resource being 
those taken fi-om garrets where they had lain for years. 



,7,V HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

Rhode Island's motto is "Hope." 

MIDDLE STATES. 

New York. — "In 1664 Charles II. granted to his broth- 
er the Duke of York that portion of the east coast between 
tEe St. Croix and the Kennebec Rivers and the Island of Nan- 
tucket and Martha's Vineyard (which the Duke had purchased 
the year before from the heirs of Sir Alexander) and the Hud- 
son River, with the lands on either side from the Connecti- 
cut line on the east, to the Delaware on the west. Under this 
charter an English fleet at once seized the New Nethuland. 
Dutch sovereignty in the New Worla disappeared. Occu- 
pying, however, as it did natural geographical boundaries, 
distinct from those of New England, it rendered the old sea 
to sea boundaries impossible and stamped its impress on our 
political boundaries. The Dutch possessions on the Hudson, 
including Long Island, were at once named New York. 

"In 16S4 the Duke of York, recognizing the command- 
ing position of the Iroquois and their claim to all the' coun- 
try from the mountains to the great lakes and the Mississip- 
pi, succeeded in persuading them to put themselves under his 
protection. The next year he came to the thtone and New 
York became a royal province. 

"In 1726 the Iroquois, Six Nations conveyed to Eng- 
land in trust all their lands, under promise of protection." 

At the time of the organization of the original States 
under the Confederacy "New York claimed that all lands 
west of the Delaware and all west of the Alleghany Moun- 
tains between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers (claimed also 
by Massachusetts, Connecticut and Virginia), were vested in 
the Crown and not in the colonies, that the King, formerly 
Duke of York, was proprietor of that province, that his 
treaty with the Six Nations and their tributaries in 1685, 
whereby they put themselves under his protection, and later, 
in 1*726, conveyed all their lands in trust to the Crown, made 
all these lands a part of New York." 

There were seven of the original states that had exten- 
sive western land claims. "These land claims promised to 
destrov the confederacv. The seven States who had exten- 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 59 

sive claims refused to give up their claims of jurisdiction and 
the six States with limited and defined boundaries maintained 
that territory conquered or defended by joint effort and at 
common expense should be held for the common benefit. 
Congress urged the States to cede to the Government their 
western claims and assign to Conijress the exclusive right and 
power to lay out such land 'into separate and independent 
States from time to time, as the numbers and circumstances 
of the people thereof may require.' 

••New York first responded in 1780, by ceding to the 
general government all titles acquired by treaties with the 
Six Nations north of 45^ parallel of latitude and westward 
of a meridian line drawn through the western bend of Lake 
Erie, or westward of a meridian line 20 miles west of the 
most westerly bend of Niagara River, provided that the 
former should not be found to fall that distance beyond said 
river. Congress accepted it in 1782." — 31<ic Count's Tlistor- 
ical Geoyraphy. 

The first settlement was made at New Amsterdam, now 
New York City, by the Dutch in 1613. 

The name. New York, was bestowed upon the State in 
compliment to the Duke of York [afterward James II. of 
England] to whom the land was granted in 1664. 

Albany is the capital of New York, and also receives 
its name from the Duke of York (from his second title, Al- 
bany), AUxniy, derived from his Scotch title, originally the 
same as Albyii, the Celtic name of Scotland. The section 
was previously known as Beverswyck, WdUmn Stadt and 
NcAi^ Orange (Ft. Orange). 

, New York is called the "Empiee State." Washington 
in his reply to the address of the New York City Common 
Council signed by James Duane, Mayor, dated December, 
1784, says in his letter: "•! pray that Heaven may bestow 
its choicest blessings on your city; that the devastation of 
war in which you found it may soon be without a trace; that 
a well-regulated and beneficial commerce may enrich your 
citizens and that your State [at present the SeM of Em2nre\ 
may set such examples of wisdom and liberality as shall have 



(W HISTORICAL AND dEO GRAPHICAL 



a tendency to strengthen and give permanency to the Union at 
home, and credit and respectability abroad," — which would 
evidence that the title of Empire State did not originate 
through State pride or its citizens. 

New York is known also as the "Excelsior State." 
This name is applied from the motto on the State Seal. 

The name "Knickerbockers" is sometimes applied to 
the people of New York. An impression has gained ground, 
from the allusion to Old Knickerbocker, that the word is of 
Dutch origin, from its modern application being signilicant 
of descendants of the original Dutch settlers, whereas the 
word is a composite of the German words knicktr (a box) 
and hock (a he-goat) with no tranr^latabie meaning, it having 
been iutroduced as a word by Washington Irving in his char- 
acter Diidrich KnickerhockKr, "an imaginary author of a 
humorous fictitious history of New ^ ork." [The word as 
later, applietl to knee-breeches, is also alleged of Dutch origin, 
whereas the Dutch word is Kortebrock.] 

The motto of New York is Excdsinr, "higher, more ele- 
vated." 

New Jersey. — On receipt of his grant of the territory 
in New York in 1GG4, the Duke of York sold that portion 
between the Hudson and the Delaware extending ta 41-^ of 
north latitude to Lord John Berkeley and Sir John Carteret 
to be known hereafter as Nova Csesarea, or New Jersey. 
They divided it into East and West Jersey. The dividing 
line surveyed in 1687, ran from Little Egg Harbor to about 
six miles north of the Delaware Water Gap. 

"The grant of East and AVest Jersey proving unsatis- 
factory to the King, owing to the conflicting claims of the 
proprietors and their heirs, James, in 11589, compelled both 
to surrender their claims to the crown and he embodied 
them into one province. New Jersey." 

New Jersey when a Dutch possession was called New 
Sweden. 

When the Duke of York granted what is now New Jer- 
sey to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, the con- 
veyance (June 2:5, 1(304,) provided that "the said tract of 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. Ul 

land IS to be called Nova Caesarea or New Jersey" in compli- 
ment to Carteret, who had defended the Isle of Jersey (Caes- 
area, one of the Channel Islands) against the Long Parlia- 
ment. 

The tirst settlement was made at Elizabethtown by the 
English in 1664. Several authorities give the establishment 
of a fort at Bergen by the Dutch as the tirst settlement with 
date varying from 1617 to 1627. 

TEEiSTON is the capital of New Jersey. It was first 
called Trent Town, so called from Col. William Trent, of 
Philadelphia, a speaker of the House of Assembly in 1720. 
He was apurchaser of considerable land at this place in 1714. 
The Indians knew this section as Sankhican, meaning "fire- 
lock" or "gun", from a tribe of Indians (Mohawks) occupy- 
ing the place, who used the fire-lock (Revolutionaiy guns). 

New Jersey is known as the "Garden State," being 
greatly occupied by truck-gardeners, especially near New 
York City, where it finds a ready market. 

The people of the State are sometimes called "Clam- 
Catchers," from the principal occupation of many of its 
poorer classes on the Raritan Bay Shoals. 

They are also known as "Jersey Blues." Blue was a 
term applied to an over-religious or strictly governed section 
— it is said when once Jersey blue-laws gets hold of a trans- 
gressor he is certain to do the State some service. 

"For his religion * * * •«• 'twas Presbyterian 
true- blue. " — Hudibras . 

The terms "Foreigners" and "Si'aniards" are also ap- 
plied. The downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte was pai'ticularly 
brought to the attention of the people of this country by the 
arrival in 1812 of his brother Joseph, who had been King of 
Spain, accompanied by his nephew Prince Murat. Joseph 
was desirous of locating in the United States, but was pre- 
vented from holding real estate owing to the State Alien 
Laws. « To enable him as an alien to hold real estate it ne- 
cessitated a special act of the Legislature. Several of the 
States to which application was made, declined, and after 
Pennsylvania's refusal a request was made on the New Jer- 



6'^ HI^STORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

sey legislature who granted the petition, extending the priv- 
ilege to Prince Mui'at, acting upon which they each purchas- 
ed land at Bordentown, Burlington Co.; Jerome buying 1500 
acres on which he erected and lavishly furnished probably 
the finest residence then in the country. It became the vis- 
iting center of the people from the different states, callers 
being courteously received and royally treated through its 
liberality. 

It is alleged that the Pennsylvanians, finding too late the 
financial benefit lost to them through their legislative action, 
tauntingly spoke of the Jersey men as "foreigners'" and also 
as "Spaniards," claiming they were no longer in the Union 
as one of the States, as they had a King, — a King of Spain, 
who was their social leader, and possibly politically; that the 
State lands had become the home of royalty. 

New Jersey has no motto. 

Pennsylvania. — In 1043 "English colonies lined the 
whole Atlantic seaboard from Nova Scotia to Florida; but 
one section lying within the bounds of the Old Plymouth 
Company west of the Delaware, hitherto shut off by the 
Dutch occupancy, remained within the King's gift. This 
he gave to William Penn and called it Pennsylvania. It was 
to consist of all that tract bounded oq the east by the Dela- 
ware river; north to the beginning of the 43^ of north lati- 
tude; south by a circle drawn at twelve miles north of New 
Castle (Del.), and thence west at the beginning of the 40° 
of north latitude; west by a meridian line 5^ west of the 
Delaware. 

"When Penn took possession and founded Pennsylvania 
(1683) the vagueness of the expression, the beginning of the 
40° and 43°, and defective ideas of the geography of the 
country, a circle twelve miles north of New Castle not touch- 
ing the 40th degree, led to serious controversies with all the 
adjoining colonies. If the beginning of the 40° and 43° 
meant from the 40° to 43° it would overlap the Massachu- 
setts (42°— 43°) and Connecticut (4l°— 42°) charters west 
of the Delaware (New York now claimed nothing west of the 
Delaware) and make his southern boundary considerably 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 6;J 

north of Philadelphia. If it meant the 39° to 42° it would 
still overlap the Connecticut cliarter on the north, and most 
of the Maryland grant on the south. In either case its west- 
ern boundary, 6 ° west of the Delaware, extended far into 
the Virginia county of Augusta. 

"As Penn had purchased Delaware of the Duke of York 
and wished to control an outlet to the ocean he contended 
for the more southerly boundary. The contest with Mary- 
land lasted till 1763, when a compromise was effected. The 
Maryland line was moved to 39° 43' and two celebrated en- 
gineers, Jekemiah Masox and Charles Dixox surveyed it 
west from the Delaware 244 miles. This line, called after 
them was the nominal boundary for many years between the 
Free and Slave States. The French and Indian war postponed 
the controversy with Virginia and Connecticut to a later day, 
— a controversy which was not settled until the Revolution, 
when, to avoid weakening the common cause, commissioners 
were appointed, and Pennsylvania was awarded her early 
charter limits of five degrees west from the Delaware. There 
a meridian line drawn from an extension of the Mason and 
Dixon line of 1760 to her northern boundary line should be 
her western boundary forever." [See Map 1775-1783 in 
Mac Couii's Hist. Geo.) 

In 1785 the meridian passing through this point was 
surveyed as far north as the Ohio River, and during the fol- 
lowing year it was extended to Lake Erie, thus separating 
Pennsylvania from the "pan-handle" of Virginia (now West 
Virginia) and also from Ohio. 

The first important settlement was made at Philadelphia 
in 1683. 

William Penn originally aesigned calling the territory 
"New Wales," but afterward suggested the word Sylvania, 
as suitable for a land covered with forests. The King in 
1681 prefixed the word "Penn" in honor of William Penn; 
literal translation "Penn's woods." It is said that Penn of- 
fered the secretary who drew up the charter twenty guineas 
to leave off the prefix "Penn." This request being denied 
the King was appealed to, who commanded the territory to 



61^ IIIISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

be called Pennsylvania in honor of Penn's father. [InPenn's 
correspondence the word is spelled "Pennsilvania."] 

The capital of Pennsylvania is IIarrisbur<i. The city 
was named from its first settler John Harris of Yorkshire, 
England, founder in 1785, subsequently changed to Louis- 
bourg; in 1791 changed back to Harrisburg. 

Pennsylvania is knoMii as the "Keystone State." On 
the vote regarding the acceptance of the Declaration of In- 
dependence six colonies had recorded their vote in the affirm- 
ative and six against when John Morton casting his vote 
(representing Pennsylvania) in favor of the measure secured 
the majority of colonies, and thereby its adoption; thus 
Pennsylvania's vote became the Keystone in the Arch of 
Liberty. It is also traceable, from Rock Creek Bridge, 
Washington, the stones of whose arch were named from the 
State Avenues of the city — the name of Pennsylvania being 
discovered to have accidentally been located on the Keystone 
of the Arch. Again, if the names of the original thirteen 
States are arranged in the form of an arch, Pennsylvania will 
occupy the place of the Keystone. 

The people of this State are called "Pennanites," — fol- 
lowers of William Penn. Also "Leather Heads," applied 
to the great number engaged in the tanning of and dealers in 
leathei- — the Northwestern section being the largest tanning 
districts in the country. 

The motto on the Reverse of the State Seal is, "Both 
can't survive." The State "Coat of Arms" carries the mot- 
to, "Virtue, Liberty and Independence." 

Delaware. — When the Duke of York took New York 
he seized also the Duteh settlements on the west bank of 
Delaware Bay as part of the Netherland. Although they 
were included in the Maryland grant, he held and governed 
it as a part of New York until 1(581 when he sold it to Wil- 
liam Penn. {^See Pennsylvania.) 

The annexed territory was divided into three counties — 
New Castle, Kent and Sussex — and were known for a lone 
time afterward as "The Three Lower Counties on the Dela- 
ware." In 1684 Penn returned to England, and in April 



MIS CELLANl ^ F THE UNITED STA TES. or> 

1691, the Three Lower Counties on the Delaware, becoming 
offended at the action of the council at Philadelphia, which 
he left to govern them, withdrew to themselves. Penn 
yielded to their action and appointed a deputy governor over 
them. In 1692 the monarchs, William and Mary, annulled 
Penn's right to govern his province and the Three Lower 
Counties were forced to reunite with Pennsylvania. Penn's 
rights were restored in 1694 and in 1702 he made provision 
for the permanent separation of the Three Lower Counties. 
The fii'st independent legislature in the Three Lower Coun- 
ties, or Delaware, was assembled at New Castle in 1703, but 
both Pennsylvania and Delaware were under the same gov- 
ernor until the Revolution. 

The State was named from the Delaware Bay and was 
so called in 1703 in honor of Lord De la War [Thomas 
West], a governor of Virginia in 1611. 

The name Delaware was first given to the bay by Capt. 
Samuel Argall, afterward Deputy Governor of Virginia, who 
came to this country in company with Lord De la War. 
After landing in Virginia he was sent out of the Chesapeake 
June 19, 1610, for provisions, and "caste anchor in a verie 
greate baaye," August 27, on which date he christened its 
waters. The bay being a widened mouth of the stream the 
name was afterward adopted to its source. 

DovKR is the capital of Delaware, named from a town 
in England. (Anglo. Saxon word meaning ferry.) 

The first settlement was made at Christiana near Wil- 
mington by the Swedes in 1638. 

Delaware is called the "Diamoxd State" through its 
small size, but great importance. 

It is also known as the "Blue Hen State." The Del- 
aware State Journal 1860 notes, that at the beginning of the 
Revolution there lived in Sussex County of the colony a gen- 
tleman named Caldwell, a sportsman and breeder of fine 
horses and o-ame-cocks. His favorite maxim was that "the 
character of the progeny depends more on the mother than the 
father, that the finest game-cocks depended on the hen rath- 
er than on the cock." His observation led him to select a 



66 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

blue hen, and he never failed to hatch a good game-cock from 
a blue lien's egg. Caldwell distinguished himself as an offi- 
cer in the First Delaware Regiment for his daring spirit. 
The high state of its discipline was conceded to his exertions, 
so that when officers were sent on recruiting service, it was 
said that they had gone for more of "Caldwell's game-cocks;" 
but as Caldwell insisted that no cock could be truly game 
unless its mother was a blue- hen, the expression Blue Hen's 
Chickens" was substituted for game-cocka. Through Cald- 
well's popularity with his men the name "Blue Hen" was 
applied to the State. 

The people are called "Musk-rats," as the abundance 
of musk-rats and the smallness of the State implied that only 
musk-rats could get a foot-hold. 

The motto of Delaware is "Liberty and Independence." 

Maryland. — In 1632 Charles I. granted Maryland to 
Lord Baltimore. The limits of the grant were that section 
between latitude 40° (the southern boundary of the New Eng- 
land Company) and the Potomac River to its first fountain, 
and bounded on the east by Delaware Bay. The portion on 
the Delaware they found, however, in possession of the 
Swedes and Dutch. 

Here, on Chesapeake Bay, controlling the trade and 
highway through the mountains by both the Susquehana and 
Potomac, Lord Baltimore founded the only single proprie- 
tary government on our shores and the only one established 
with entire freedom of worship. {^See Pennsylvania.) 

Maryland was chartered as 2^ province, all others as col- 
onies. 

It was intended that the country granted by Charles I. 
in his patent to L(»rd Baltimore June 30, 1632, should be 
called "Crescentia," but when presented to the King for 
signature, in conformity to his wishes, the name of the 
IH-ovince was changed to that of Terra Marioi, "Mary's 
Land," in honor of his queen, Henrietta Maria, daughter of 
Henry IV. of France. 

The capital is Annapolis, namely City of Anne, in hon- 
or of Queen Anne, who had favored the town w^th bequests. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 67 

Originally the settlement was named by Catholics St. Mary^s 
re-named Arundleton, after the Earl of Arundel, subsequent- 
ly Anne Arundel (prefix compliment to Queen Anne.) 

The State was first settled at St. Mary's in 1634. 

Maryland is sometimes called the "Old Link State," 
an allusion to the "Mason and Dixon's Line," and a refer- 
ence to the "line" between slavery and freedom. 

The people are called "Craw-thumpers." Lobsters are 
called craw-thumpers by the fishers — crato a corruption of 
claw, thionper, a long-shore localism meaning to bang — the 
banging or slamming motion of the lobster. The name ap- 
plied from the abundance of lobsters. 

The motto of the State is Crescite et Multiplicamini, 
"Grow or increase and multiply." At one time the seal 
was mislaid and the new die carried the above motto. The 
seal was originally pendant, for wax, and the mottoes, ob- 
verse, Fatti maschii parole femine, "Manly deeds, womanly 
words;" reverse, Coronasti nos, and Scuta bonce voluntatis 
turn., "You have crowned us with the shield of your good 
will." 

Virginia. — In 1783 each of the original states claimed 
that its title by charter or grant rested in itself and could 
not be vested in the confederacy without its own consent. 
Six of the States had well defined limits, New Hampshire, 
Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and 
Maryland. Seven of them under the sea to sea charters laid 
claim to all the western country. 

The Virginia claim was to all between 36° 30' and the 
Connecticut line, 42° 2' east of the Mississippi. Her claim 
was based on her charter of 1609, (her claim in reality cov- 
ered also both the Massachusetts and Connecticut claims), 
her treaty with the Iroquois is 1744, her conquest of the 
country during the Revolution and by occupancy of the 
country by numbers of her citizens under the organized gov- 
ernments of Augusta, Kentucky and Illinois counties. 

For details of the boundaries of Virginia, from first to 
last, the reader is referred to MacCoun's Historical Geography. 

The discoverv of this territory attending Raleigh's ex- 



66- lIISTOIilCAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 



pedition, was declared by Queen Elizabeth to be the most 
glorious event of her reign. As a memorial of her unmarri- 
ed state (in 1584) she named the country Virginia. 

Richmond is the capital. The name is from Richmond 
on the Thames; the name suggested owing to the analogy in 
situation. 

Virginia is termed the "Mother of Presidents," ow- 
ing to seven of the Presidents of the United States having 
been born in the State. 

Also known as "Mother or States," from her age; 
being the the first of the original thirteen states settled; 
a colony located at Jamestown in 1607. Also from its ex- 
tensive domain, out of which in whole or part originated 
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and West Virginia. 

The State is known, too, as the "Old Dominion." 
Berkeley proclaimed Charles II. King of England, Scotland, 
Ireland and Virginia; Charles w^as therefore made King in 
Virginia, by the supreme authorities of the colony, before 
he actually became so in England. Already when they were 
informed that Parliament was about to send a fleet to reduce 
them to submission, the Virginians sent, in a small ship, a 
messenger to Charles, at Breda in Flanders, to invite him to 
come over and be King of Virginia. He was on the point 
of sailing when he was called to the throne of his fat her. In 
gratitude to Virginia he caused the arms of that Province to 
be quartered with those of England, Scotland and Ireland, 
as an independent member of the empire. From this cir- 
cumstance Virginia received the name of "The Old Domin- 
ion" — coins with these quarterings were made as late as 
1773. 

A "History of Virginia," by Capt. John Smith, pub- 
lished in 1629, contains a map of the settlements of Virginia, 
which at that time included New England, as well as every 
other part of the British settlement in America. Thereon 
our present Viginia is called Ould Virginia in contradistinc- 
tion to the New England Colony which is called New Vir- 
ginia. From the settlement of the Colony to the Revolution 
every letter of the King, every act of Parliament always des- 



MI ;S CELL ANY OF THE UNITED iSTATE/S. OU 

ignated Virginia as the "Colony and Z>om//?io?i of Virginia," 
consequently the application of Ould Virginia to the Old 
Dominion is easily perceivable. 

Called "Ancient Dominion," from the circumstance 
that Virginia was the original name for all the English Col- 
onies in America, "ye ancient settlements hereabouts." 

The people are called "Beadles," inherited from its Col- 
onial Days, through the introduction of the English beadles 
of the Court Customs. 

The motto of Virginia on obvei'se of State Seal is Sic 
semjyer tyrannis, "Ever so to tyrants," Reverse: Perseveran- 
(/(), "Perseverance." 

West Virginia. — "When the representatives 0\ the 
slave-holding States withdrew from Congress in 1861, the 
States they represented proceeded at once to pass acts of se- 
cession from the Federal Union and to establish a Southern 
Confederacy. The Constitution recognizing no power of 
States to secede, Congress proclaimed these States in rebel- 
lion and proceeded to employ coercive measures. West Vir- 
ginia counties refused to be bound by the Ordinance of Seces- 
sion passed by Virginia. Forming a legislature, which they 
claimed to be the real executive body, they gave the assent 
required by the Constitution to the organization of a new 
State, and applied for admission as West Virginia. Con- 
o-ress recOEcnized their action and the State was admitted 
June 19, 1863." 

In the convention from the thirty-nine counties that met 
to protest against the ordinance of secession, the name Kan- 
awha, after the principal river, was proposed for the new 
State, but it came into the Union with a different name from 
that contemplated. 

Wheeling is the capital of West Virginia. The name 
is from the name of the creek; weel in the Delaware signifies 
"human head;" is rendered local in the use of tW/, making 
"the place of the head." The legend being that in the early 
occupation of the Ohio Valley a white pioneer was killed at 
the mouth of the creek and his head cut off and hoisted on a 
})ok' whicli was left fastened in the ground as a menace for 



10 III,STUltlCAL ANIJ (iEOGRAPIIliJAL 

other settlers. The letter h in its present spelling was thrown 
in, in the anglization of the word, the pronuneiation convey- 
ing its necessity. 

West Virginia like New IIami)shire is called the 
"Switzerland of America," in allusion to its wild moun- 
tain scenery. 

It is also called the "Pan-handle State." The term 
pan- handle was applied to that portion of the State embrac- 
ing the counties of Brooke, Hancock, Ohio, and Marshall, in 
the north, because of the general resemblance of the map of 
the State to a huge pan, with its handle extended northward. 
By a reference to a map it will be noticed that the counties 
named make up the narru.v strip of the State se[)arating part 
of Pennsylvania from Ohio. Someone afterward discovered 
that the counties of Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, 
Mineral, Hardy and Grant, on the extreme east of the State 
also formed a sort of handle to the pan, and dubbed it the 
Eastern Pan-handle in contradistinction to the other, or 
Northern Pan-handle. As to when the term was first apjjli- 
ed is probably not known. It was common in state news- 
papers and other publications twenty to thirty years ago. 

The term, "pan-handle," is now commonly applied to 
any narrow portion of a state extending between two other 
states, as the northern part of Texas and Idaho. 

The people of the State are sometimes alluded to as 
' 'Pan- h andelites. " 

The mottoes on the Great Seal of West Virginia are, 
obverse: Montani semjiei' Kberi, "Mountaineers are always 
freemen." Reverse: Libertas et Jidelitas, "Liberty and 
fidelity." 

SOUTHERN STATES. 
North Carolina. — "On the restoration of the Stuarts, 
Charles II. rewarded a number of Noblemen * of England 
with a grant (1665) of all territory lying between .36^ :30' 

* These men had the same position as that of Lord Baltimore— that is, they 
were proprietors; and Caruliua, as it was then called, was a proprietary colony. 
Among' the proprietors were Earl of Clarendon, Duke of Albemarle and Sir 
Ashley Cooper afterward Earl of Shaftesbury, and in whose honor both the 
Ashley and the Cooper Kivers were named. They at once set to work lo de%'ise 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 71 

and 29° of latitude and from sea to sea. 

"This embraced, on the north, ]>art of Virginia, and, on 
the south, the Spanish province of Florida. This territory, 
though one province, was soon settled as two colonies, the 
northern or Albemarle, and the southern or Carteret col- 
onies, each named after chief proprietors. Each from the 
first had separate governors, and finally in IBTO, because of 
the remoteness of the colonies from each other, and jealous- 
ies between the settlers and proprietors they were divided 
by the Company into North and South Carolina, Ten years 
later (1680) a settlement was made on the Ashley River call- 
ed Charleston. The Carolinas occu})ied the same relation to 
Virginia that Rhode Island did to the Plymouth and Massa- 
chusetts Bay Companies. Malcontents had settled on the 
Chowan, pirates preying on Spanish commerce made Char- 
leston their rendezvous and an impossible form of government 
pi'oduced so much irritation that in 1'729 the ])roprietors sold 
both Carolinas to the Crown and they becaine royal prov- 
inces, and so remained to the Revolution. 

a M-heiue of grovi'mmcut, and with the assistance of John Loelce, who subse- 
quently became famous for other thing's, they devised the most singular frame 
of goveinment which we have met with in America. It was called the "Fun- 
daiuentid Constitutions of Carolina," and was in etfeeta statement of the pro- 
posed constitution of suciety in the new colony. Locke and Cooper framed 
tlie Constitutions, which, it is said, was chiefly the production of the brain of 
the former. Cooper was then forty-seven years of iig:e, and Loclio only thirty- 
four and tutor of C)0per'g son. The political and religious system was care- 
fully laid down and ihe system of land tenure, t)gether with provisions for 
the administration of justice. The government contemplated was to be au ar- 
istocracy, at the head of which were to be the proprioiors. The country was to 
be divided into counties, each made up of eight "sciignories," eight "baronies," 
and twenty-four colonies, each to consist of twelve thousand acres. The pro- 
prietors were to own the "seigjiories," the common people the 'colonies." 
The "baronies" were to belong to the subordinate nobility, which was of two 
classes— first, the "landgraves;" second, the "caciques." Besides the "seign- 
ories," the proprietors (or their heirs) were to possess the following oBiceu- 
Palatine, chancelor, chief justice, constable, almiral, treasurer, high steward 
and chamberlain, and each of these officials was ti I be assisted by a court, in 
which the "landgraves," the "caciques," and the "commons" we re to be repre- 
sented. We have gone so far over the Fundamental Constitutions merely to 
give an idea of the utter inappropriateness of the instrument to the small, 
scattered and struggling colonies which had passed under the rule of the pro 
prietors. Although made by themselves, the proprietors seem to have appre- 
ciated the absurdity of their frame of government, forthey never heartily en- 
deavored to put it into force. And as for the coloni.sts, they would have noth- 
ing to do with it, and made up assemblies that passed liws to suit themselves. 
—Prom a book published by the Methodist Book Concbrn. 



1'2 miSTOElCAL ANU GEOGEAMIICAL 



"In 1788 North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia 
claimed to the Mi8sissii)pi under the Carolina charter of 
1665, to all between 36 ^ 30' and the Spanish line (31'^), 
Georgia carrying her claim north to the line of the source of 
the Savannah River, and North Carolina hers south to the 
South Carolina line, thereby leaving South Carolina a strip 
only twelve miles wide." 

It is not positively known when and where North Car- 
olina was lirst settled, but the first settlement was probably 
made somewhere about Albemarle Sound in 1663. 

The name, Carolina, was given in 1564, at the time of 
the first colonization by the Huguenots in the reign of Charles 
IX. of France; being called Carolana [Latin, Carolus, 
Charles]. The English later preserved the name in honor of 
Charles IL, of England. When the French first settled in 
Florida, they built a fort, mention of which is made, in Lat- 
in, as arx Carolina. 

Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina, and the name 
was given in honor of Sir Walter Raleigh who located a col- 
ony on Roanoke Island July 23, 1587. 

North Carolina is popularly known as the "Old North 
State," as designating it from South Carolina. 

It is also known as the "Turpentine State," from the 
large quantity of turpentine produced from its pineries. 

The people of the State are nicknamed "Tuckoes," a 
corruption of Tuck-a-hoe, Mohican Indian word Tauquauh, 
signifying bread, a curious vegetable [/Sclerotinm giganteum] 
of this section locally called Indian bread. Naturalists are 
greatly puzzled over its origin, as it is commonly found sev- 
eral feet under the surface; and, like the trufile of Europe, 
has apparently no stem, no leafy appendage connecting it 
with the external atmosphere. Generally found through the 
instrumentality of hogs, whose acute smelling enables them 
to fix upon the spot where they lie buried. They are usual- 
ly globular or a flattened oval shape with rather a regular 
surface, the large ones resembling somewhat a brown loaf of 
coarse bread. The size varies from an acorn to the bigness 
of a man's head. 



Mm CELL ANY OF THE UNITED STATE IS. 7. J 

Capt. Smith, in his MS. mentions a root called Tock- 
awhough '^growing like a Jfag, of the greatness and taste of 
a Potato, which jiasseth a tierce purgation before they may 
eate it, being poison whiles it is raw." 

'•Tar-heelers" is also applied to the people, sobriquet 
given during war times, that coming from the pineries they 
having tar on their heels, when called into action would hold 
their ground, as the tar would cause them ''to stick." 

The State has no motto. 

South Carolina. — (See NouiH Carolina. ) 

South Carolina ceded the twelve mile strip, extending 
from the Savannah to the Mississipjd, to the Government in 
1787. See Tenxessek. 

The State was tirst settled at a spot known as Old Town, 
or Old Charleston, a few miles above the site of Charleston, 
about 1670. 

CoLL'MBiA is the capital. Columbia is the feminine of 
the word Columbus, in whose honor the name was adopted, 
and the creation of the emblematic goddess of the Country. 
It was applied through poetic justice to Columbus. Its first 
use is traced to Dr. Timothy Dwight (1752-1818) appearing 
in a popular song written by him which began: 

"Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise. 

The queen of the world and the child of the skies." 

The ballad, "Hail Columbia, happv land," was written bv 
Joseph Hopkinson (1770-1842). 

South Carolina is jiopularly known as the "Palmetto 
State," from the State arras, which bear a Palmetto tree. 
Also .from the Palmetto tree growijig in South Carolina, 
i^Chanufrops Hgstn'.f, Blue Palmetto.) 

The people are nicknamed "Weasles," a backwoods 
application to the natives. 

Also "Sand-hillers." "The Sand-hillers are small, 
gaunt and cadaverous, and their skin is just the color of 
the sand-hills they live on" — Olm^tedd. Bartlett notes: 
"A class of people in (xeorgia and South Carolina said to be 
the descendants of the 'jioor whites' who being deprived of 
work bv the introduction of slave-labor, took refuge in the 



/V// lIl.STonU'AJ. AN J) UEuallAriUCAL 

pine woods tliat cover the sandy lulls of those States, where 
they have since lived in a miserable condition. A friend 
suggests that the name conies from the Sand Hill Crane 
\Grus Cunadeusis], just as 'Corn Cracker' comes from the 
Corn Crake, another 'long legged' si)ecies." 

"RicE-HiRDs," is sometimes applied to the people. 
"The surrounding country [Beaufort, S. C.j embraces the 
best rice-tields of the South, so proverbially so indeed that 
the irreverent 'up country' are accustomed to call the aris- 
tocratic inhabitants of tlie region rice-hirds ; perhaps, also, 
in allusion to their worldly fatness."- — N. Y. Tribune. 

The mottoes of South Carolina are Animis opibusque 
parati, "Prepared in mind and resources; ready to give life 
and jjroperty;" and Dum spiro, sj/ero. Spes, "While I 
breathe, I hope." "Hope." 

Georgia. — "In 1732 General James Oglethorpe, a do- 
mestic reformer in Parliament, devised a scheme for settling- 
insolvent debtors in America. He obtained a grant of the 
land between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers for twenty- 
one years. Savannah, the first settlement, was founaed in 
1733. The colony pi'ospered and stood as a bulwark be- 
tw^een the Spanish and Carolina settlements. Then it grew 
feeble, struggled on until the expiration of its charter, when 
it was turned over to the CroAvn, the trustees feeling that 
the scheme had been a failure. 

''Georgia was the last State to make its cession of land to 
the Government. In 1788 she offered to cede to the United 
States that portion of the former British Province of West 
Florida north of the thirty-first parallel and which wasindis- 
})ute between the United States and Spain, but Congress de; 
clined to receive it until 1798. In 1802 she ceded her claims 
to all remaining territory w^est of the present limits." 

The colony was named in honor of George II. of 
England. 

Ati.anta is the capital. The name of the city was or- 
iginally Marthas oille. Atlanta was suggested (by the late 
Edgar Thomson of Philadelphia) owing to its geographical 
position; immediately on the dividing ridge, separating the 



mi^^ca'jLzaa^y of the united /state 8. 7 J 

Gulf and Atlantic waters. 

Georgia is popularly known as iIr' "Kmi-ikk Htatj-: of 
TiiK SouTii,'' it being the leading State (of the soutliern 
grouping) in its manufacturers, public and literary men. 

The people are nicknamed "Buzzards," from a State 
law toward protection of the buzzards, inflicting a heavy pen- 
alty upon any person killing or injuring them — the aim of 
the act being to encourage their increase, as the}'' act in t lie 
capacity of scavengers. 

The people of Georgia and Alabama are called "Gooueu 
Grabbers." The latest edition of Webster's Unabridged 
detines "Goober" as "a peanut;" and hence as the peoj)le of 
(xeorgia and Alabama are so extensively and enthusiastically 
engaged in raising peanuts, they are thus called. 

The mottoes of the State are: (Jhvcrtie: Wisdom, jus- 
tice, moderation. Ixeverse : Agriculture and commerce. 

Florida. — "lu 1513 Ponce de Leon, landing near the 
mouth of the St. John's River, gave the name of Florida to 
the country, then coasted along the whole peninsula and up 
the west coast as far as 27^ 30'. * The tirst definite bound- 
aries were established with reference to the claims of English 
Georgia and French Louisiana and embraced in addition to 
its present territory the maritime border of Alabama and 
Mississippi. It was ceded as a colony to England in 1763 
and recovered by Spain in 1781." "The United States pur- 
chased Florida of Si)ain by a treaty proposed February 22, 
1819, though it was not signed by the King of Spain until 
October 24, 1820, and not ratified by the LTuited States until 
F'ebruary 19, 1821, which ex[)lains the varying dates given 
by different histories." f "The L'nited States paid five mil- 
lions for Florida, and gave up all chiitns to Texas, condition- 
al upon S[)ain assigning to the L^nited States all her titles 
and claims to the Oregon country. The line between the 
two countries was to be the Sabine River to latitude 32 , 

* See map in Justin Wiusoi's "Niirrativo and Critical Htstory of America, " 
ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci witbin the next j'car or two, showing- South 
America, Florida and Racallaos as islands on the coast ot Asia. The map is 
reproduced in iMae Coun's "Historical Geography." 

t Biitnes' Bri( I History of U.S.. p. :J02. 



76 IIIiSTOlilCAL AND GFAJ GRAPHICAL 



then due north to the Red River, west on the Red River to 
the lOOth meridian, thence due north to the Arkansas River, 
west on that river to its utmost source, thence due north to 
the 42nd parallel, thence due west to the Pacitic Ocean. 
[See Louisiana for the settlement of the dispute between 
Spain and the United States relating to the territory between 
the Mississippi and the Perdido Rivers.] On the signing of 
the Treaty with Spain in 1821 and the acquisition of East and 
West Florida it was organized into the Territory of Florida, 
with the limits of the present State. The same Act admit- 
ting Iowa March 3, 1845, also admitted Florida, thereby 
keeping the balance between free and slave States." 

The State was first settled at St. Augustine in 1565 by 
Menendez. 

Florida was named by Ponce de Leon (a Spanish navi- 
gator) in honor of his discovery of the land on Easter Sun- 
day, March 2V, 1513, which is called by the Spaniards 
Pascua Florida, "Holy day of Flowers," [Pascua same as 
Old English, Pasch, or Passover.] 

The capital is Tallahassee, a Creek Indian word, 
italuahassi, "old town," italua, "town," also attributed to 
tallefau, "a town," hassee, "old." 

Florida is populai'ly known as the "Peninsular State," 
from its natural formation. 

The name, "Fly-up-the-Creeks," is applied to the peo- 
ple, a local application to one of the crane family [Ihffnn'df's 
virescens], Green Heron, found on the marsh shores. 

The State motto is, "In God is our Trust." 

Tennessee. — It is said that De Soto explored the terri- 
tory now occupied by this State, and visited the spot where 
Memphis now stands. 

"The early history of Tennessee is that of the State of 
'Franklin,' sometimes called Frankland, and is curious and 
interesting. As early as 1*758, before the settlement of Ken- 
tucky, the inhabitants of North Carolina had crossed the 
mountains and settled in the fertile region of the Cumberland 
River, until by 1*784 there were, perhaps, ten thousand of them. 
In this year the State of North Cai-olina passed an act where- 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 77 

by her western lauds were ceded to the United States. There 
were many reasons for this in the minds of the legislature, 
l)nt the act aroused profound dissatisfaction in the minds of 
the inhabitants of the ceded counties, which inci-eased when 
Congress, at that time a long way off, as things were, did 
nothing at all about it. The frontiersmen were deserted. 
They had no government, no militia, nothing. They at once 
gathered together, called conventions, and elected delegates, 
and, meeting at Jonesborough, they made themselves into an 
independent State, to which they gave the name of 'Frank- 
lin,' and proceeded to adopt a constitution and send a peti- 
tion to Congress to be admitted into the Union. They had 
some difficulties about these measures, and they were by no 
means completed when the North C:u"o!inians changed their 
minds and thought they would rather keep their western 
lands to themselves. The legislature, therefore, repealed the 
act of cession, and arrangements were made for the adminis- 
tration of justice, and for the militia of the frontier counties. 
There were shortly two set-s of authorities in Franklin. 
There were two sets of law- makers. There were two sets of 
judges, who greatly disturbed their respective legal proceed- 
ings. There were two sets of taxgatherers, a superfluity 
which rendered both impracticable. Not to be too long, the 
result, which could hardly be doubtful, came in 1787. The 
better organization of the older State prevailed, and the rude 
arrangements of the mountaineers fell to pieces. Sevier, the 
Governor of the short-lived state, was ])ut on trial for trea- 
son. Various exciting events followed. Sevier was rescued 
and pardoned. He subsequently returned to his country, 
where he was quite as popular as ever. As for the former 
Franklin, North Carolina again ceded it to the United States 
in 17S9, and the next year it was joined to Kentucky to form 
the 'Territory South-west of the Ohio' " * It received a 
distinct territorial government in I7i)4 and on June 1, 179(5 
was admitted to the Union with a constitution which was 
never submitted to a popular vote, but which Jeiferson pro- 
nounced "the most republican yet formed in America." 



* A book publisht'd by Mothodift Book Concern. 



78 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

The South Carolina cession whicli had been united to it as 
part of the "Territory South-west of the Ohio" was again 
separated as the "Territory South of Tennessee." [In 1789, 
as already noted, North Carolina ceded to the Government 
the territory comprised in the present State of Tennessee, 
with the proviso that no laws should be enacted prohibiting 
slavery. Congress accepted the session and organized it with 
the twelve- mile strip received from South Carolina in 17 87 
into the "Territory South-west of the Ohio River."] 

The State was first settled at Fort Loudon, thirty miles 
from the present site of Knoxville in 1756. In 1780 James 
Robertson crossed the mountains with a party and located 
where Nashville now stands. 

The name Tennessee is from the principal river, adopted 
in 1796. Indian Taensa», "river of the great bend." Also 
Tenas See, one of the chief villages of the Cherokee Indians, 
located at one time on the "Tenas See" River, said to signi- 
fy "a curved spoon." 

Nashville is the capitol. The place was first named, as 
a settlement, Nashborough in honor of Francis Nash of 
North Carolina, a brigadier- general in the Continental Array. 
In June, 1784, changed to Nashville. 

The State is popularly known as the "Big Bend State" 
from its principal river, also the "Volunteer State," ac- 
quired during the Seminole War, and War of 1812, from the 
large number of volunteer soldiers from the State. 

The people of the State are popularly known as Butter- 
nuts," from the color of the clothing worn during the Civil 
War. Also "Whelps" a nick-name copied from some au- 
thorities, but the origin of the application or the use of the 
word is not only unknown to prominent Tennesseeans and So- 
cieties, but the use of it is denied. Bartlett gives "Mud- 
heads" — "a nick-name applied to natives of Tennessee," 
but ()f[:ers no reason. 

The motto is "Agriculture, Commerce." 

Alabama.— In 1763 when the entire French possessions 
east of the Mississippi, except New Orleans, fell into the 
hands of the English, Alabama was incorporated first with 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 79 



Georgia, afterward, in 1802, with Mississippi Territory. 
In March, 18 IV it was divided from the Territory of Missis- 
sippi by a north and south line equally distant from the Geor- 
gia line and the Perdido River on the east, and the Missis- 
sippi and Pearl Rivers on the west. It was admitted into 
the Union Dec. 14, 1819. 

The first settlement was made in 1702 on Mobile Bay 
by Bienville. The present site of Mobile was occupied nine 
• years afterward. 

The name, Alabama, was adopted in 1817, from its prin- 
cipal river, a Muscogee word, translated, "Here we rest." 
Biedma notes the word as AUbamo; a Portuguese narrator 
uses the word, Alie?7iann. Also an Indian tribe Alba (thick- 
et), Ai/almu (cleared place) literally "thicket clearers" locat- 
ed at the junction of the Tombigbee and Coosa Rivers. 

Montgomery is the capital, named after General Rich- 
ard Montgomery, [killed at Quebec, Canada, 1775.] 

Alabama is known as the "Cotton State," it being the 
central State of the cotton belt. 

The people are sometimes called "Lizards" as in Ala- 
bama's streams lizards are numerous; the poorer people lived 
on the banks, and being hidden in the woods led an analo- 
gous life to lizards. Also "Goober Grabbers" (see Geor- 
gia.) 

The State moito is "Here we rest." 

Mississippi. — "On the acceptance of the first Georgia 
session in 1798 the Government organized it into the Missis- 
sippi Territory subsequently adding the later session of 1802 
and the Territory South of Tennessee excepting such portion 
as lay east of the present western boundary of Georgia which 
the United States ceded to that State." In 1817 the Terri- 
tory was divided into two Territories, Mississippi and Ala- 
bama, and the former was admitted as a State, December 10, 
of the same year. See Alabama. 

In 1699 M. d'lberville formed settlements on the coast 
at Ship Island and Biloxi. 

The name, Mississippi, was adopted in 1790, from the 
river of its western boundary. 



mi HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

The original spelling and nearest approach to the al- 
gonquin word "the father of waters," is Mtche Sebe, which 
words are still commonly used by the Louisiana Creoles. 

Tonty suggested the Miche Sepe, Father Laval Mi.chi- 
sepe. Father Lahatt softened it into MMsipi [the first speci- 
men of the present spelling, the only change since being to 
overload it with consonants.] Marquette added the iirst s, 
some other explorer the next, making it Mississipi, and so 
in France it remains to this day with but one pr, who added 
the other p is unknown; conjectured to be an American be- 
cause at time of purchase of Louisiana one jD was generally 
used in the spelling. 

In the Natchez, the word meant, -'the father of waters." 
In Choctaw, "long river." Illinois Indian, Mehassepi, "all 
the rivers." In the Delaware Namaesi "a fish," sipu "a 
river. ' ' 

There are various other spellings: Father Claude Dah- 
lon (map 1670) Missisipi; Father Allouez, 3Iesipi, and 
Messi-sepy ; Joliet, Michisepee; Coxe's Map of Carolana 
1722, Meachacebe', Hennepin Meschasipi; DuPratz, Meauet- 
cJiassipi; Dumont, Mechassipy. 

Also noted on old maps under -name of Grande Riviere, 
Riviere Conceptio?i (Marquette), Reviere Rtiade [family 
name of Frontenac] by Joliet, also Fleuve St. Louis, and by 
Spanish, named Rio del Espiritu Santo, Rio Escondido. 

Tribes at the lower end called their respective sections 
Chucagua Mico, Tvmalosen, Tapala, the mouth of the 
stream being noted by one tribe as Ri. 

Missi, "great," variously spelled Missil or Michil 
[Michil-mackinac], Michi [Michi-gan], Missv [Missouri], 
Missi [Missi -sippi], sip/i being English pronuciation of the 
French sepe. 

Gallatin notes, missi never means father, but in several 
dialects, "all, whole." 

In the Algonquin and Knistinaux missi aclki and messe 
(fski means "the whole earth, the world" (Mackenzie). 
In Ahenaki messisi "all, whole," an equivalent to the French 
tout (Rasle). In the Delaware niesitschej/en "wholly" (Zeis- 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 81 

berger). I think therefore the proper meaning of Mississip- 
pi to be "the whole river," expressive of the union of all the 
r'wer^, from the Mississippi. — TownsemV s U. S. 

Jackson is the capital, named in honor of General An- 
drew Jackson. Mississippi is popularly known as the "Bay- 
ou State," from the numerous applications of the word 
"bayou" to its waters, as exhibited on State maps. A 
French word [hot/an, a gut] as ap)>liod, meaning "an outlet" 
of a lake, or channel of water. 

The people of the State are called "Tadpoles," an 
equivalent to young Frenchmen. The Frenchmen [Pari- 
sians] were called Crapands (frogs) from their ancient her- 
aldic device "three toads erect saltant," and which is traced 
by the caricaturist in the present Fleur-de-Lys. Qk'' en disent 
les genouillesf [What will the frogs say?] in 1791 was a 
common court phrase in Versailles. 

The State has no motto. 

Louisiana. — The history of many of the States west 
of the Mississippi involve the history of the "Purchase of 
Louisiana," and hence we shall give the history of the Pur- 
chase at this point. 

"The United States began its national existence in 1787, 
with England as a neighbor on the north and northeast, and 
Spain on the west and south. Its western boundaiy was the 
middle of the Mississippi River, hwi Spain by the posession 
of the Island of New Orleans held the mouth of the river. As 
the Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky region became settled 
their commerce increased until the absolute control of the 
entire eastern bank as a natural boundary became a necessity. 
[All the products of these sections were then sent to market 
via the Mississippi, there being no I'oads over the mountains, 
the owners returning by ship to the Atlantic ])ort8, and hence 
over the mountain trails.] Events were drifting toward its 
forcible siezure, when, in ISUl, Spain, by secret treaty 
ceded to France the Province of Louisiana with the same 
boundaries as ceded to her in 17(33, a country stretching from 
the mouth of the Mississi})]»i to its farthest western sources, 
but with undefined limits to the west, southwest, or south- 



6;J IIIST'OlilCAL AND GMOGMAFHICAL 

east. This transfer was not known until after tlie Treaty of 
Peace between France and England, signed at Amiens in 
1802. England, in alarm, broke the treaty of Amiens. To 
the United States the change of owners and the possible 
transfer of the armies of Napoleon to the Mississippi Valley 
made the posession of the Island of New Orleans more vi- 
tal than ever. Negotiations were opened for the purchase 
of New Orleans. Napoleon preparing to invade P^ngland, 
in want of funds, and unwilling that it should fall into the 
hands of England, offered to sell the whole province to us 
for fifteen millions. * The purchase was made. Spain pro- 
tested, but the treaty was signed April 30, 1803. France 
gave a quit claim to the Province of Louisiana with the 
same extent it had in the hands of Spain in 1800, and that 
it had when previously possessed by France. What were the 
limits? Louis XIV. in 1712, in granting the trade of the 
province to Antoine Crozat, bounded it by New Mexico and 
Carolina, and all the territory whose lakes or rivers emptied 
directly or indirectly into the Mississippi or any of its 
branches, f Our title, therefore, clearly gave us to the 
source of the Missouri and the Rocky Mountains, \ 

* The nogotiation of this great purchase was concluded by Robert Livings- 
ton the American minister at the court of the First Consul. He had instruc- 
tions to purchase Orleans and the mouth of the river, but when Napoleon of- 
fered the whole for fifteen million dollars he was amazed, and having no time 
to consult with the President and Congress, accepted the offer on his own re- 
Bponsibility. He assured the President of the prudence of the venture in 
writing of what he had done, by stating that he had already arra;)geQ wiih 
parties who would take the purchase "off our hands" for fllteon millions, and 
leave to the United States Orleans and the mouth of the river. Napoleon was 
fully aware of what he had done, and when Marbois, his minister, reported to 
him that the purchase had been concluded he said: "Thi-* accession of territo- 
ry strengthens forever the power of the Dnited States ; and I have just given 
to England a maritine rival that wiU sooner or later humble her pride." 

Kidpathsays that of the fifteen millions paid for Louisiana, eleven and a 
quarter millions was for purchase and three and three-quarters millions was 
for French debts assumed by the United Slates 

This vast territory was explored by a parly of less than thirty persons 
under the contr.il of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They 
left St. Louis in the month of March, 1804, and were out twenty-seven months. 
The special purpose of tliis expedition was to explore the Missouri Kiver and 
to find if possible an access to the t-aciflc by way of the Columbia, in which 
they were successful. The members of this famous exi-loriag company w ere 
the first white men known to havecrossed th« United States from ocean to 
ocean. 

t Cro/at sui'rondL'red this grant in 1717. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 83 

France furthei'iuore had claimed the Texas country as 
far as the Rio Grande, based on an attempted settlement by 
La Salle at the month of that river, but Spain occupied that 
country as far as the Sabine River and French settlements in 
that direction ended with Natchitoches. 

The United States claimed to the Rio Grande, also east 
of the Mississippi,- south of the 31° of latitude, to the Perdi- 
do River, claiming that the original Province of Louisiana 
extended eastward to that river and if France was not in actual 
possession it yet had a possessory right when it made the ces- 
sion to Spain in 1V63 which Spain re-ceded in 1800, and 
which France ceded to the United States in 1803. Spain 
claimed that the French cession in 17G3 embraced east of the 

X The ffrant made by France to Aatoine de Crozat makes the flrst, and in- 
deed the only gtatement of the limits of this vast region. . * * * Prom this it 
appears that Louisiana was regarded by France as comprising- the drainage 
basin of the Mississippi as far north as the mouth of the Illinois, with those of 
all its branches which enter it below this point, including- the Missouri, but ex- 
cluding that portion in the south-west claimed by Spain. It is moreover cer- 
tain that the area now comprised in Washington, Oregon and Idaho was not 
included. * * * The treaty of c«ssi-)n, from France to United States, which 
bears date of April 30, 1803, describes the ter.-itsry only as being the same as 
ceded by Spain to France by the treaty of San Ildefonso (October 1, 1800.) From 
this it appears that the territory sold to tUe United States comprised that part 
of the drainage basin of the Mississippi which lies west of the course of the 
river, with the exception of such parts as were then held ny Spain. The 
wantofpreuise definition of limits in the treaty was not objected to by the 
American commissioners. as they probably foresaw that this very indefiniteness 
might prove of service to the United States in future negotiations with other 
powers. In fact, the claim of the United States to the area now cumprised in Or- 
egon, Washington and Idado in the negotiations with Great Britian regarding 
the north-western boundary, was ostensibly based, not only upon prior oocupa- 
tion, and upon purchase from Spain, but also up(m the alleged. fact that this 
area formed part of the Louisiana purchase. That this claim was baseless is 
shown not only by what has been already detailed regarding the limits of the 
purchase, but also by the direct testim )ny of the French plenipotentiary, M. 
Marbois. Some twenty years after the purchase he published a work on Lou- 
isiana, in which he detailed at some length the negotiations which preceded 
the purchase, and, in referring to this question said : "The shor^^s of the west- 
ern ocean werecertainly not comprised in the cessii)n, but already ihe United 
States are established there." Thero is a map in this work ou which that part 
of the Country now comprisetl in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, which, it has 
been claimed formed a part of the purchr se. bears the following legend : "Ter- 
ritories and Countries occupied by the Ignited States, following the treaty of 
cession of Louisiana." From this it appears that the limits of the Louisiana 
purchase can no longer be a matter of discussion; but although the United 
States certainly did not purchase Oregon, as a part of Louisiana, it is no less 
certain that that great area wust of the Itocky Mountuuis fell into their hands 
as adirect con«cquence of such purchase.— Boundaries of the Slates and 
United States. Gannett. U. S. Geol. Survey, Bulletin 13, p. l'.'--*0 



<y^ llItiTORliJAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

Mississi})})! only the Island oi' New Orleans.* Spain was left 
the country along the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, 
east of a line nearly corresponding with the present boundary 
between Louisiana and Mississippi on the Pearl River and 
south of the thirty-lirst degree of latitude. The final settle- 
ment of these disputed lines was not made until 1819, when, 
by the treaty of Washington, Spain ceded to the United 
States the provinces of East and West Florida. ( ^^ee Florida. ) 

With the extension of our domain to the Rocky Moun- 
tains the ownership of the Columbia Basin came into ques- 
tion. In 1792 a Boston ship had discovered the mouth of 
the Columbia. Immediately on the ])urchase of Louisiana 
the Government sent an expedition which not only reached 
the head- waters of the Missouri, but in 1805 crossed the 
mountains and followed the Columbia from its source to the 
sea. A settlement was made at its mouth in 1810. 

England and Spain both claimed the country by early 
discovery. In 1818 Commissioners of England and the 
United States determined the boundary line from the Lake 
of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains on parallel 49^^. Be- 
yond the mountains the line was left in abeyance and the 
country open to settlers of both nations for ten years, which 
was afterward extended until definite lines were drawn in 
1846. (See Oregon.) 

In a general way it may be said that f "when the United 
States purchased it Louisiana included all the region north 
and west between the Mississi])pi and the Pacific (except 
those portions occupied by Spain; see California,) and north 
to the British possessions." 

On the acquisition of the Province of Louisiana from 
France in 1803 Congress organized that portion at the mouth 
of the Mississippi River into the Territory of Orleans bound- 

* On Novembei 3, 1763, France ceded Louisiana to Spain rietlnina- the region 
only as the province ot Louisiana. A short time after, on February 10, 17(53, by 
a treaty of peace between Great Britian, France and Spain, the western bound- 
ary of the former's possessions in the New World, was placed in center of the 
Mississippi River, thus reducing the area of the Louisiana by the portion east 
of the Mississippi River. By treaty of San Ildefonso, October 1, 1800, Spain 
transferred back to France the balance of the province ot Louisiana. Gannett 

t Barnes' Brief Hist, of U. S. 



Mils CELL ANY OF THE UNITED STATED. Sf, 



ed south by the Gulf of Mexico, west by the Sabine River to 
latitude 32^ and thence north to parallel 33°, north and east 
by parallel 33° from the Spanish line to tlie Mississippi, 
thence down that river to the 31- parallel, thence east to the 
Perdido River (boundary of Spanish Florida), thence down 
that river to the Gulf of Mexico. 

The District of Louisiana comprised the balance of the 
French purchase. In 1804 it was attached to Indian Terri- 
tory, but the following year (1805) was organized into 
Louisiana Territory. 

The State of Louisiana was made from the Territory of 
Orleans in 1812, (April 8) and at first embraced all that por- 
tion west of the Mississippi River and the Island of New Or- 
leans, to which the section south of parallel 31° and west of 
the Pearl River was subsequently added. The Territory of 
Louisiana was then re-uamed tlie Territorv of Missouri. 
— MacCoun's Historical Geography. 

New Orleans was founded in 1718, and the tirst settle- 
ment was made by the French at a point about 38 miles be- 
low New Orleans in 1700. Some authorities give the tirst set- 
tlement as Biloxi in 1699. 

Louisiana was named by La Salle, in honor of Louis 
XIV, King of France. "After making a continuous voyage 
from the Falls of St. Anthony, La Salle entered the Gulf of 
Mexico, April 9, 1682. He founded the Fort of St. Louis, 
and gave the adjacent lands the name of Louisiana. 

Baton Rouge is the capital. The name is made up of 
two French words translated "red stick." It is said that 
when the place was tirst settled there was growing on the 
spot a cypress, the bark of which is red in color, of immense 
size, prodigious height, and entirely free from branches ex- 
cept at its very top. One of the settlers playfully remarked 
that the tree would make a handsome cane or stick. 

Louisiana is known as the "Creole State," through a 
large part of its inhabitants being Creoles, the descendants of 
the original French and Spanish settlers. A French word 
Creole, from Spanish crioUo, "properly created, nursed, 
grown up." "One born in America, or tlie West Indies of 



8G HISTORICAL ANlJ GEOGRAFHIVAL 

European ancestors." "One born within or near the tropics, 
of any color, [This is tlie usual sense.]" Wehster. ["The 
term creole negro is employetl in the English West Indies to 
distinguish the negroes born there from the Africans import- 
ed during the time of the slave trade. The api)lication of 
this term to the colored people has led to an idea common in 
some parts of the United States, though wholly unfounded, 
that it implies an admixture greater or less of African blood." 
R. midreth.] 

Also called "Pelican State," from the "Pelican" as 
sliown in the State seal. 

The people of the State are frequently called Creoles. 

The State motto is "Union, Justice and Confidence." 

Texas. — This State was explored by La Salle and De 
Leon. It was the subject of much discussion during the dis- 
pute relating to the limits of the Louisiana Purchase. 

It was claimed by both the United States and Spain. 
From 180(3 to 1816 settlements were made and several at- 
tempts were made to wrest it from Spain. 

It was settled in 1715 by the Spanish under the name of 
New Philippines. Latitte, a gulf pirate made a settlement 
at Galveston in 1815, but it was broken up in 1821. In 1819 
the River Sabine M'as established as a boundary. In 1820 
Moses Austin, an American, got a large tract of land in tlie 
territory from the Mexican Government and began a settle- 
ment which rapidly increased. 

In 1828 Mexico threw oft" the Spanish yoke and became 
a Republic. Texas was one of the Mexican States and in 
1835 declared its freedom as the "Republic of Texas." A 
provisional government was formed, Sam Houston chosen 
Commander in-chief, and the Mexicans driven out. 

iVfter some difficulties with Mexico, Texas Avas, in 18o7, 
acknowledged as an independent Republic by the United 
States, and in 1840 by England, France and Belgium. 

It was in the revolt of Texas against the Mexican Gov- 
ernment that David Crockett, the famous hunter, lost his 
life. 

* "But the people of Texas were continually harassed 

* LogSlNG'S OUK COLTNTUr p. 135L 



Mli^ CELL ANY OF THE UNITED STATE 1:^. <V7 

by Mexican marauders; and when in 1843 President Tyler 
made a proposition to the President of that Republic for its 
annexation to the United States it was eagerly accepted. A 
treaty to that effect was negotiated and it was signed in 
April, 1844, by the Texan commissioner and John C. Cal- 
houn, who was then Secretary of State; but the Senate re- 
jected it. 

"The country was soon afterward violently agitated by 
discussions on the subject of annexation. The chief point of 
antagonism lay in the slavery question, the friends of that 
institution being all in favor of the measure, while its oppo- 
nents were firmly (»pposed to it, for they regarded it as a 
plan for strengthening the political power of the slave-labor 
States; also because it would surely lead to a war Mith Mexi- 
co, for that government had never given up its claim to 
Texas as one of the States of the Republic. This question 
entered largely into the canvass for the Presidency in 1844." 

In 1844 Congress passed a resolution to admit Texas, 
prohibiting slavery in States formed from its territory north 
of the line of the Missouri Compromise line, 36^ 30', and 
leaving it to the people themselves to decide whether it 
■liould exist south of that line. Texas accepted the annexa- 
ion both by her own Congress and by a popular convention. 
On December 29, 1845, Texas became a State of the Union 
with the limits of the Republic of Texas, bounded east and 
north by the Treaty line M'ith Spain in 1821, (see Florida), 
to the soufce of the Arkansas River, on the soutli and west 
by the Gulf of Mexico, the Rio Grande to its source and 
thence due north to the junction of the Arkansas River. It 
comprised parts of the present states of Kansas, and Colorado 
of the Territory of New Mexico, and "No Man's Land." 
In 1850 such portions were ceded to the United States for a 
consideration. Southern statesmanship, by colonization, rev- 
olution and annexation, thus added to the Southern group of 
States territory to equalize that accjnired by the Louisiana 
})urchase lying north of 36° 30', in which by the compromise 
of 1820 slavery was not to exist. Afterward, on the acquis- 
ition of Oregon, the Mexican War was provoked and the 



<S,S' HISTORICAL AND GEOGEAPHIVAL 



latitudinal limits of the Southern group carried to the Pacitic 
Coast. Nevertheless, Texas was the last Slave State added 
to the Union. 

Thouo-h larger than live such States as New York Texas 
has remained a single State because its population has re- 
mained so small. In the act of admission it was provided 
that it might be divided into four new States besides itself. . 

The place and date of first settlement is considerably in 
doubt. Montgomery names Lavaca, on the coast, settled by 
the French in 1685. Townsend gives San Antonio settled 
by the Spanish in 1690. 

"On account of an error in the treaty surveys there was 
formerly a tract of land about 2400 square miles in area, ly- 
ing between Texas and Indian Territory, the ownership of 
which could not be determined without special Congressional 
legislation. This area lay against the eastern part of the 
'pan-handle' of Texas, between the North and the South, or 
Prairie Dog-town Fork of the Red River, and was known as 
the 'No Man's Land of Texas.' Politically it was known as 
Greer County, and, although it was not recognized by the 
United- States authoriiies, it was claimed and included by the 
State authorities of Texas a legitimate part of that State and 
the inhabitants enjoyed the same political rights as those of 
any recognized part of Texas. This tract has since been in- 
cluded in Oklahoma Territory." For an explanation of the 
source of the error in the treaty survey see J. W. Red way's 
Manual of Geography . 

The origin of the name, Texas, is much in doubt. It is 
j»opularly supposed to be derived from the Indian, but it may 
be Spanish. 

It is perhaps from a small tribe of Indians that inhabit- 
ed a village called Tehas, meaning "friendly." 

Morfi's manuscript History of Texas, gives it as meaning 
"friends." 

An Indian chief related to Sara Houston in account- 
ing for the origin of the name, says: "When the Span- 
iards overran Mexico, a party of r^d men fled to the north- 
ward, crossed the Rio Grande and entered the ijreat salt 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITE I) STATES. 89 

marshes. Hence they traveled day after day, until without 
food or water they were utterly exhausted, and when upon 
the point of lying down in dispair, came upon a bluff over- 
looking the Colorado, The stream was clear and beautiful 
and beyond were green meadows dotted with trees, and the 
savages in their joy, cried -Tehas! Tehasr This word 
meant 'Paradise'." A slight alteration in time of the cen- 
tral letter it became Texas. 

The publication of Don Louis de Ouis H18 states on a 
visit of Alonzo de Leon to the Cenis Lidians in 1689 they re- 
ceived him with great kindness calling him and his followers 
Texas, which in their language signifies "friends," Oapt. 
Alonzo de Leon (Spanish) governor of Cohaquila, in looking 
for the lost companions of La Salle visited the Asimais 
or Asmaes Indians, who received him kindly. To recipro- 
cate their kindness he named the land (from the Spanish 
spelling of the Indian pronounciation) Tejas, the word mean- 
ing, in the Indian dialect, ''friends." 

In a report to the Spanish Government in 1T44 the 
writer says the territoty on the Neches is called Texas. 

Also an Aztec word Tehajas, meaning "north country." 

The mound prairies known as Teja or Tejas and the 
word applied by the Sj^aniards to the shape of the wigwams 
of the Neches Indians. 

Vasquez Coronado in his explorations makes mention of 
the Tei/as Indians. — Townsend's '^U. S.''"' ♦ 

Yokum, in his History of Texas, on page 52, has the 
following: "C. H, Gayarre suggests that Texas may have 
been the appellation of some petty tribe of Indians living in 
eastern Texas; or it may be of Sjjanish origin, and applied 
to the light structures of the Indians on the Neches, Teja, 
plural Tejas,- in allusion to the covering of their tents or 
wigwams. Some say that Texas, in the language of the 
A-simais (Cenis) Indians, is interpreted as meaning friends, 
but the interpretation is deemed fanciful." 

Austin is the capital, named in honor of Stephen F. 
Austin, founder of the first American Colony of Texas (1844.) 

Texas is nick-named the "Lone Star State" from the 



VO HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

Texas Hag wliicli bore one star prior to its admission into 
the Union. Its present State Seal carries a Lone Star. 

The term "Beef-iikads" is sometimes applied to the 
peo])le, owing to the chief occupation of raising cattle through 
natural State advantages in its vast grazing lands. 

Texas has no motto. 

Arkansas. — Arkansas vi^as discovered and settled by 
the Fj-ench under Chevalier de Tonty as early as 1685 at Ar- 
kansas Post, although some authorities give Little Rock as 
the first settlement with date about 1690. 

On March 2, 1819, when the Enabling Act was brought 
forward for the State of Missouri, Arkansas was organized 
as a Territory, from a part of Missouri Territory including 
the present State of Arkansas and a part of Lidiaii Territory, 
comprising the section on the west bank of the Mississippi 
between latitudes 83° and 36° 30' west, to meridian 94° 42'. 
The same Act (June 15, 1836,) that admitted Michigan as a 
free State also admitted Arkansas as a slave State, with its 
present limits. 

The name Arkansas is derived from its principal river — i 
adopted in 1819; early French documents use the word 
Alkansas. 

AlJcansas or Arkatisas, was the name given by the Al- 
gonquin tribe to the nation now extinct calling themselves 
Quappas. 

Lidian luinsoos, "smoky water," with French prefix ar 
[arc] "a bow"; they were called the "bow" Lidians by the 
French. 

The name is variously spelled by the Spanish: Arkan- 
sca, Arkanisea, Arcancas- — the river mentioned on French 
maps as "Riviere Bazaire." 

[Note. — ■'''•Joint Resolution Declaring the proper pro- 
tiimciation of the name of the State.'''' Passed by the 2Sd 
session of the Legislature of Arkansas, in 1881. 

Preamble: — Whereas, Confusion of practice has arisen 
in the pronunciation of the name of our State, and it is 
deemed important that the true pronunciation should be de- 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. Vl 

termined for use in oral official proceedings, 

And whereas, The matter has been thoroughly investi- 
gated by the State Historical Society and the Eclectic Socie- 
ty of Little Rock, which have agreed upon the correct pro- 
nunciation, as derived from history, and the early usage of 
the American immigrants, 

Be it therefore resoloed by both ho^ises of the General 
Assembly, That the only true pronunciation of the name of 
the State, in the opinion of this body, is that received by the 
French from the native Indians, and committed to writinsr 
in the French word representing the sound; and that it shall 
be pronoimced in three sylables, with the final "s" silent, the 
"a" in each syllable with the Italian sound, and the accent 
on the first and last syllables — being the pronunciation for- 
merly, universally, and now still most commonly used; and 
that the pronunciation with the accent on the second syllable 
with the sound of "a" in man, and the sounding of the ter- 
minal "s" is an innovation to be discouraged.] 

Little Rock is the capital. The name is a local apj)li- 
cation from the town occupying the top of a rocky clifl" which 
is much more conspicuous than the other cliffs of the river 
bank; also said to be traceable from an igneous slate rock in 
the river bed at this point, visible only at low stages of the 
water. 

Arkansas is known as the "Beau State," from the 
number of bears that infested the forests, during its earlier 
days, the application then made. 

The people are called "Toothpicks," in allusion to the 
bowie knife; in frontier times it was spoken of as an "Ar- 
kansas Toothpick." 

"Straightway leaped the valiant Slingsby 

Into armor of Seville, 
With a strong Arkansas Toothpick 
Screwed in every joint of steel." 

— ^American Ballads. 

The mottoes of the State are, "Mercy, Justice," and 
Regnat Poimli, "The people rule." 



92 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

CENTRAL STATES. 

The Central States east of the Mississipi)! were taken 
from the Origixai, Public Domaix. This domain consist- 
ed of the land sessions made hy the original States to tlie 
Government, with a small section in the present State of 
Maine lying outside of the Sir Gorges and Sir Alexander 
grants, purchased by Massachusetts, but inside the treaty 
line with Great Britain. 

For the New York cession see New York; for the 
Georgia cession see Georgia; for North Carolina and 
South Carolina cessions see Tennessee. 

Virginia ceded all her claims north-west of the Oliio 
River, reserving only, as military bounty lands the country 
between the Scioto and Little Miami in the present State of 
Ohio. The cession bears date of 1784. 

"Massachusetts ceded in 1784 and Congress accepted in 
1785, all her lands west of the New York line. Her claim 
that fell within the limits of the present State of New York 
was adjusted with that State in 1786 by a meridian line 82 
miles west of the Delaware from the Pennsylvania line to 
Lake Ontario. Beyond this line New York yielded a right 
to the soil and Massachusetts the right of sovereignty. 

"The Connecticut Cession in 1786 embraced the soil 
between 41° and 42° 12' west of a meridian 120 miles west 
of the Pennsylvania line. Of this section she ceded the 
right of soil and on March 30, 1800, also the right of juris- 
diction. To that portion between the Pennsylvania line and 
the 120 mile meridian known as the "Western Reserve of 
Connecticut," she retained the right of soil but surrendered 
the right of jurisdiction. (See Ohio.) 

"Congress now jjassed (July 13, 1787,) an ordinance or- 
ganizing all the territory between the Ohio and Mississippi 
Rivers, and the Great Lakes into the Territory North- 
west of the Ohio Rjver, providing for its future division 
into not more than five nor less than three States. One to 
be bounded east by the Pennsylvania line, south by the Ohio, 
west by a meridian line drawn from the mouth of the Great 
Miami to the border line. The second from the last de- 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 93 

scribed line on the east, the Ohio on the south and west to 
the Wabash River, and a line due north from Port Vincent 
to the border. The third that })ortion between the last men- 
tioned line and the Mississippi. Authority was reserved to 
make two States in that part of the territoi'y north of a par- 
allel passing through the southernmost point of Lake 
Michigan. 

Ohio, Indiana and Illinois were afterward made on these 
lines and Michigan and Wisconsin lie wholly north of the 
provisional latitude. The ordinance prohibited slavery in 
the Territory after the year 1800. The small section be- 
tween Lake Erie, the New York and Pennsylvania lines, 
was sold by Congress to the State of Pennrylvania, thereby 
giving that State a port on Lake Erie. 

Ohio. — In 1802 Congress passsed the first "Enabling 
Act," authorizing the inhabitants of the eastern portion of 
the Territory Northwest of the Ohio to make a Constitution, 
republican in form in accord with the ordinance of 1787, 
and to organize a State government, the boundaries of the 
State to be: P^ast, the Pennsylvania line; south, the Ohio 
River; west the meridian of the Great Miami River; north, 
the latitudinal line passing through the southern point of 
Lake Michigan. Congress reserved the right to add ihe 
balance of the NorthAvest Territory, north of the limits of 
the State, or to dispose of it as it should think best. A con- 
vention was called, a Constitution formed, with the proviso 
that if the latitudinal line from the most southern point of 
Lake Michigan to the boundary line did not touch Lake Erie, 
or touched it east of the mouth of the Maumee River, then 
the northern boundary should be a line from the most north- 
ern cape of Maumee Bay to the meridian line. This Con- 
stitution was never submitted to the people, nor was the State 
ever formally admitted, but an Act on Febiuary 19, 1803, 
declared that by the formation of a Constitution it had be- 
come one of the United States of America." 

Histories do not agree as to the date of Ohio's admission, 
but February 19, 1803, is the date now generally accepted. * 



'• Excepting Ohii), Congress has passed a distinct and detiniie act ot admis- 



9 J, HISTORICAL AND GEOGEAPniCAL 

The Western Reserve of Connecticut lay within the 
boundaries of Ohio. The Reserve with the exception of the 
Fire Lands* was afterward sold by Connecticut to a Connect- 
icut land syndicate, which in turn sold it to private individ- 
uals. The money which the State of Connecticut received 
from this sale formed the foundation upon which her school 
system has been built. 

The State of Ohio made no compensation for any por- 
tion ceded. 

Ohio was first settled at Marietta, in 1788. 

The State takes its name from the river forming the 
southern boundary. 

From the Iroquois Oheo, beautiful. — [French spelled it 

Heckweld derives it from the Indian word Ohuipesk- 
hamie, Ohni, "very," opeek, "white with froth," hanne, 
"stream," alluding to the white caps with which its surface 
is covered in a high wind; omitting all but its first part for 
ease of pronunciation. 

Also from the Shawnee word meaning "beautiful river." 
The Seneca word is O-hee-yeg-a-Jumday meaning "good, 
beautiful, running waters." 

Noted on maps in 1687 as Alhacha, by Dono (1708) as 

sion. or has pi'ovided for an admission on the issue of a pr-iclamation by the 
President. The people elected delegates to a ccnvention by whom a Ccmstitn- 
tisn was formed (November 29, 1802), which in January 1803, was submitted to 
Congress for ratification; and on the I9th of the following- month the President 
approved the first act which recoj^nized the new State. The U. S. Census trives 
date of admission November 3fl, 1802. kinor's "History of Ohio" in the Com- 
monwealth Series, and the aricle "Ohio" in the Encyclopedia Buitannica 
give the date of U03. 

* In 17J;3, a tract containing- about flvehundreo thousand acres of land, 
lying in the western part of the Reservation, was granted by Connecticut to 
certain citizens of that state as a compensation for prop rty burned and de- 
stroyed in the towns of New London, New Haven, FairfielJ, and Norwalk by 
the British troops in the cause of the Revolutionary war. The tract thas 
granted was called tho Fire Lands. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 90 

Cahach, in 1710 as O-o, 1711 Ochio, \1\Q Sahogungo. The 
Miamis called the stream Causisseppione, the Delawares 
Kitono-cepe, aa:l othor tribis AlUwsge-Sipe, the Wyandottes 
spoke of it as Oheezuh, "the grand." On a map accompa- 
nying Rapin De Thoyers History of England, 1744, it is 
spellel II.)!uo. 

Bancroft in a foot-note states Yougldoglieny or Yoiigh- 
io^hany is a spelling of one of the many names given by the 
Indians to the Ohio River, from which word the French de- 
rived the name ie., y OugHIOghany. 

The Yoiighiogheny River, Pennsylvania takes its name 
from the Indian, yukinakhcmna, "a stream taking a round- 
about course." 

Schoolcraft notes, the name Ohio was apjdicd to the 
present combined streams, Ohio and Alleghany, the true In- 
dian sound of the Iroquois word Oheo, but as the letter / in 
French orthography represented the English e long, it took 
the form of notation. The exclamatory transitive particle 
/o, as heard in this word, when preceded by the interjection 
oh! when shortly uttered may be translated, "How beautiful 
a scene." 

The French literally translated the Iroquois name and 
called the stream La Belle Riviere. 

Columbus is the capital. The name was given as a 
tribute to Christopher Columbus; the ground when originally 
selected in 1812 was for the purpose of locating homes for 
Canadian and Nova Scotian refugees, and the committee 
thi'ouo-h a sentimental simile selected the name Columbus, 
"as to him we are primarily indebted in being able to offer 
the refugees a resting i)lace." [This is conjectured, no act- 
ual reason being recorded.] 

The popular name of Ohio is "Buckeye State," from 
the Buckeye trees [^Esculus glabra] that abound, the nut of 



96 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 



which bears a resemblance to a buck's eye. 

The people are called "Buckeyes." 

The State motto is Lnperhon in Intperio, "An empire 
within an empire," or "A government within a government." 
The motto is not on the State Seal. 

Indiana. — "By an act of Congress passed May 7, 1800, 
the territory northwest of the Ohio was divided. After July 
4th, all that portion lying west of a line from the Ohio 
River to Fort Recovery (known as the treaty line of 1795), 
thence by a meridian line to the international border, was 
constituted into Indiana Territory. When Ohio became a 
State in 1802 all the Northwest Territory north of the Ohio 
line was added. For one year 1804 to 1805, after the pur- 
chase of the Province of Louisiana and until it was independ- 
ently organized, all that territory north of the Territory of 
Orleans, extending to the Rocky Mountains, was included in 
its jurisdiction. In 1805 Michigan Territoi-y, embracing 
all between Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan was taken from 
it, and in 1809 Illinois Territory was separated by a line fol- 
lowing the Wabash River to Vincennes and thence by a me- 
ridian line due north to the international line. 

"Thus Indiana was territorially reduced to its present 
boundaries, except that when it was admitted as a State, 
December 11, 1816, its northern boundary was run on a par- 
allel ten miles north of the extreme southern point of Lake 
Michigan." 

The State was first settled at Vincennes by French Can- 
adian voyagers in 1702. 

The name of the State is from the word Indian, first ap- 
plied in 1768 to a grant of land north of and near the Ohio 
River, which was obtained that year by a company of traders 
from the Indians. 

The capital is Indianapolis, the name meaning literally, 
"The city of Indiana." (/>(>/i6'-city). The name was pro- 
posed by Judge Jeremiah Sullivan, of Jefferson Co., Ind., 
and was preferred to Tecmnseh and Suwarroic which were 
suggested. 

Indiana is familiarly known as the "Hoosier State." 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 97 

Hoosier is said to be a corruption of hiisher, which was for- 
merly a coniinou term throughout the West for a "bully;" 
and this is the accepted derivation of the term. 

Also traceable to a gruff local expression of "who's ycr." 

The word as "hushers" applied to the pioneer Indians 
whose huge frames signified "formidable in fights," literally, 
easily able to crush out life, or '■'■hush one to sleep." 

The southern part of the State is knov,'n as "The 
Pocket." 

The people are familiarly termed "IIoosiers." 

The State motto is "Constitution," but is not found on 
the State seal. 

Illinois. — After the States of Ohio aud In liana and the 
Territory of Michigan had been taken from the Northwest 
Territory, the remainder was called the Territory of Illinois, 
(1809) comprising the present States of Illinois, Wisconsin 
and a part of Minnesota, or more strictly ail that portion of 
the Territory Northwest of the Ohio River organized under 
the Ordinance of 1787, west of the Wabash River and a 
meridian line drawn from Vincennes to the international line. 
It was admitted as a State, December 8, 1818, being bounded 
on the east, south and west, by Indiana, the Ohio, and Miss- 
issippi Rivers resi)ectivfely, north by the parallel 42° 80' 
from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. 

"The three Northern States bordering on the Ohio, con- 
templated by the Ordinance of 178 7, had now been admit- 
ted, with east and west boundaries as originally provided, 
but in no case had their northern boundaries been in accord 
with the line of 1787, which was latitude 41^ 37'. That 
line would have cut off each of these States from the Lakes. 
Had it been adhered to, it would have materially changed 
the history of the nation by sundering the natural geograph- 
ical connections of these States with the East by way of the 
Lakes, turning their commerce, interests, and sympathies to- 
ward the Gulf." 

The country was first explored by La Salle and the 
French missionaries, who formed the earliest settlement at 
Cahokia ai\d Kaskaskia in 1(582 au;l liJH.i.* In XMY?, a stock- 



98 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

ade fort was built near the mouth of the Chicago River and 
named Fort Dearborn, the present site of Chicago. In 1833 
the settlement took the name of Chicago. 

There is so niucli interest manifest in the derivation of 
the name, Chicago, that we give what we are able to find re- 
lating to it. The name was originally given to the Chicago 
River, and is said to have been first mentioned by Perrot, a 
Frenchman by whom it was visited in 1671. 

The Pottawottamies called it Shecxivgo, "playful waters," 
also Choc-ca-(j(>, meaning "destitute." 

Schoolcraft gives the etymology as Chi-cag^ "animal of 
the leek," or "wild onion." Chi-cag-o-wunz, "the wild leek 
or polecat plant." Chi-ca-go, "place of the wild leek." 

Father Louis Vivier, priest of Kaskaskia, in a letter to his 
Superior writes: "Chikagou was a celebrated Indian chief, 
etc." 

Also written and known as Tack-chicago, tuck, "wood 
or lumber," Chicago, "gone, absent, or without," ' signify- 
ing "without wood." 

The word in print first occurs in Hennepin's accouut of 
Fort Creve Canir, in which he mentions a fort called Chica- 
gou, f)ut gives no meaning of the word. 

La Honton designates the portage between the lUin jis 
River and the Great Lakes as Chickahou. 

Charlvoix [1720] refers to the point at which the place of 
portage commences as CMcagou. — Townsend's " ?Z aS". " 

One writer says that Chicago is supposed to be the name 
of the god of thunder, but we are inclined to believe that it 

* Three years previous to this time, after having- explored the Illinois K'iver 
La Salle built a Fmall fort on that river near where Peoria now stands which he 
called Ore\"e Cn'ur (Krave Kur). Some authors cive Kaskaskia as !he first set- 
tlement; others g-ive Cahokia, and different authors jrive !6S3as the date of b' th 
settlements. One writer }; Ives Kaskaskia as first settlement with date of 1720, 
while another marks the date l!^S3 as doubtful. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 99 



signifies "wihl onion." 

The name Illinois was arloi)ted from the princi})al river, 
in 1809. 

Illini [Indian] meaning "men," ois from the French, 
meaning "tribe'" i. e., "tribe of men." 

Also from an island on its Mississippi shore, named by 
the French, from the circumstance of its abounding in nuts, 
isle mix noix, "isle of nuts." 

Possibly a French-Canadian attempt to ex})ress the word 
Illiuhcek in the Algonquin, a verbal form of "we are men." 
The wek gradually being written ois from '■'■tray'''' or nearly 
so. We say Illy-noy, the French said Illeen-vay, the Indian 
Illeen-weJc. 

An author says, "As the Algonquin has no letter I, this 
letter supplied no doubt by the French luini meaning 'men' 
or 'we are men,' as a reply to an interrogatory of Marquette 
on the part of an Algonquin chief, no doubt as an intention 
to signify 'perfect men' as distinguished from the Iroquois." 

Springfield is the capital. The town, now city, was 
named by the commissioners appointed to locate the county 
seat of Sangamon County. It was then (1821) simply atown 
site but was designated as the County seat and named 
Springfield. 

The town was first platted as "Calhoun," but tlie name 
was aliandoned hy common consent and Springfield ado]»ted 
generally and officially. Mr. Townsend says: "The name 
was probably transmitted from or by Massachr.setts settlers. 
Springfield, Mass., was named in honor of the English resi- 
dence of its founder, Willii>m Pynchon [1640]." 

Illinois is the "Prairie Statk," so called in allusion t:) 
its widespread and beautiful prairies. 

Also "Sucker State." It is related, this word origi- 
nated at the Galena mines in the fall of IF'22, wl.en tin re 



100 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

was a great exodus. A large returning party while board- 
ing a steamer at Galena wharf was asked "Wher' ye goin'?" 
"To hum," was the reply. "Well," was the rejoinder of an 
old miner, "ye put me in mind of suckers, they do go up 
the river in the spring, spawn, and all return down ag'in in 
the fall." [Sucker is a fresh-water fish of the carj) family, 
genus, Catostomits. ] 

The lead mines also attracted many poor whites from 
Virginia and Kentucky, who had torn themselves away from 
the wealthy slave-owners, for a prospective betterment, satir- 
ists predicted that they would "perish like sprouts, or 'suck- 
ers' to the tobacco plant, when stripped from their parent 
stem." 

Another derivation notes, it arises from the fact that 
western prairies in many places are filled with holes, made 
by the craw fish, out of which early travelers, by means of a 
hollow reed sucked up the pure water that lay beneath; when 
these holes were found, the discoverer would call a "sucker, 
a sucker," in asking for a reed. 

Hence the people are called "Suckers." 

Also "E(;yptians," especially the people of the south- 
ern section, because of the alleged darkness in complexion 
of its inhabitants. Also applied to the State as EciYPT on 
account of the fertility of the soil. 

The State motto is, "State Sovereignty," — "National 
Union." 

Kentucky. — There is no State in the Union that has a 
more romantic and interesting history than Kentucky. The 
reader will remember Spotswood and the Knights of the Gol- 
den Horseshoe. The names of Daniel Boone, Christopher 
Gist, Colonel Henderson, George Rogers Clark, and Simon 
Girty are familiar to the older inhabitants of Kentucky and 
adjoining States. 

A work published by the Methodist Book Concern fur- 
nishes the following: "In 1*769 Daniel Boone made his first 
journey through Kentucky. He was a typical frontiersman, 
always moving on the farthest fringe of settlements. Well 
skilled in woodcraft, great with the rifle, successful in his 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED ISTATEfi. loi 

dealings with the Indians, there have been few men in our 
country who more justly deserve the name of the First Pio- 
neer. He traversed over a great part of eastern Kentucky 
with his brother and two companions. The two latter were 
killed by the Indians and the younger Boone was forced to 
return to the settlements for ammunition. Daniel Boone 
s})ent the winter absolutely alone with great contentment. 
The next summer he returned with his brother to bring their 
families out to the new country. The next year George 
Washington, floating down the Ohio river to locate land for 
the soldiers of the French war, was received by the Indians 
with honor, and returned with good accounts of the country. 
The first permanent settlement in Kentucky was made in 
17 74 by James Harrod, with a company who passed down the 
Ohio, and thence some way inland, where they founded Har- 
rodsburg.* The next year Boone built a fort, and soon others 
were built. To obtain titles to land was the great object of 
tlieir excursions. Colonel Henderson and others, in 1775, 
obtained a tract of land from the Cherokees, embracing all 
of the present State of Kentucky east of the Kentucky river 
They at once proceeded to occupy it. Daniel Boone leading 
forth a party, built a fort, which was named Boonesborough. 
Henderson sent out a call for a congress of delegates from 
the settlements in the surrounding country, which met at 
Boonesborough and adopted the nan.ie of "Transylvania." 
They drew up laws for self-government among them; one for 
punishment of jjrofane swearing and Sabbath-breaking, and 
another for preserving the breed of horses. Daniel Boone 
carried the passage of a bill for the preservation of game. 
But this government of Transylvania did not last. The 
o-rant from the Cherokees was in truth worthless. The 
whole country was held at the time to belong to Virginia. 
It had been hitherto neglected, or considered a part of the 
county of Fincastle. In 1776, however, the whole of what 
is now the State of Kentucky was made into the county of 



* We have two authorities at hand which g^lve the first settlement of Ken- 
tucky as Boonesboro, 1775; two others which f^ive B^vnesville. 17(>9. Three 
State histories of Kentucky state that Daniel I'.oonetirst visited Kentucky in 
17fi9, that Har^o1sbur^■ was founded in 1774 iind Buonesliorn a year later. 



102 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

that name. Henderson and his Tiansylvanians received a 
grant of land at the north of the Green Kiver to quiet them 
for the loss of the t'l 0,000 which they had paid for the 
worthless Transylvania j)atent. 

"Kentucky, as the County of Kentucky, remained a part 
of Virginia, when that State ceded its lands north of the 
Ohio to the General Government. In the years immediately 
after the Revolutionary War the desire of the people of Ken- 
tucky to separate from Virginia became very general. Vir- 
gin'ia was not disinclined to allow her to set up for herself 
and in 178(3 her General Assembly passed an act of cession 
whereby she might be separated from Virginia provided that 
before the tirst of June,' 1787, Congress should vote her ad- 
mission, but Congress acted slowly, and the matter needed 
consideration. In Feljruary, 1891, however. Congress pro- 
vided for her admission as a State. On June 1, 1792 a Con- 
stitution was formed and on that date Kentucky became the 
fifteenth State of the Union." 

Kentucky was named from its principal river, and the 
name was adopted in 1782. 

Trumbull says that Kentucky is an Indian word, Kain- 
tnk-ee, "at the head of the river." [Shawnoese]. 

Also an Algonquin word interpreted the same as that 
for Connecticut, "long river." 

An Indian word KentaJx'ckoica., "long prairies." 

Lord Dunmore in a proclamation, 1775, speaks of the 
country as Cantucky. 

Frankfort is the capital. Its County, Franklin, was 
named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, and when its capital 
was created, a composite word further commemorating the 
honor was adopted: Frank, diminutive of Franklin; fort, 
meaning town; "town of Franklin." 

Kentucky is popularly known as the "Corn-Cracker 
Statk," a corruption of "corn-crake." \krage, Dutch for 
crow], a species of RaUi/ft ov rail [R. Rex.] found to a great 
extent in this State, its local name applied from its- singular 
cry; brought into prominence on account of its being special- 
Iv sought for as game. 



MI IS CELL ANY OF THE UNITED STATE 8. lO.i 



Also known as "Blue- grass State." Its m-azing known 
as "blue-grass" bears a world wide reputation, rendering its 
State famous lor thorough-bred horses and cattle. "Blue 
Grass" affords pasture for ten or eleven months in the year, 
and flourishes in the partial shade of the woods in which 
there is no undergrowth. It is eaid the change from the fer- 
tile soil of the limestone section /upon which the grass flour- 
ishes to that which is poorer is sudden and well marked. 

The State is also known as the "Dark axd Bloody 
Ground," said to be translation of Kentucky, and formerly 
a much-used expression in allusion to the section. Wheeler 
notes, ''The phiase is an epitome of the early history of the 
State, of the dark and bloody conflicts of the first white set- 
tlers with their savage foes; but the name originated in the 
fact that this was the gi-and battle-ground between the North- 
ern and Southern Indians." 

Kentuckians are called "Corn Crackers." 

Bartlett notes also "Red Horses," "a nickname applied 
to natives of Kentucky,'' but gives no reason. 

The State motto is: "United we stand, divided we 
fall." 

Iowa. — Before its organization as a Territory, Iowa was 
a part of the Louisiana tract and was successively a part of 
Missouri, Michigan and Wisconsin Territories. When Iowa 
Territory was set off (1838) it comprised that portion west 
of the Mississippi and east of the Missouri. In 1846 Iowa 
Territory was reduced by the formation of the State of Iowa 
and in 1848 it was united with a part of Wisconsin Territory 
in forming Minnesota Territory. 

"Iowa without authorization by Congress, formed a 
Constitution, a})plied and was admitted in 1845, bounded east 
by the Mississippi, south by j)arallel 40'^ 30', west by a con- 
tinuation of the meridian drawn through confluence of the 
Missouri and Kansas Rivers, north by the 44° parallel from 
the Mississippi to the Minnesota River, thence up that river 
until it intercepts the western meridian line. Disputes, aris- 
ing, however, regarding its boundaries, a new Constitution 
was formed, acce))ted, and the State finally admitted, I)e- 



10 ]^ HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

ccmber 28, 1846, with its present limits extending to the 
Missouri River in compensation for territory lost on its north 
border. North line is 48^ 80'." (See Map 1850 in Mac 
Conn's Historical Geography.) 

"Julien Dii buque, a Canadian Frenchman, obtained in 
1788, a large tract of land, including the present site of Du- 
buque. He there built a fort and traded with the Indians 
till 1810. The first permanent settlement was made at Bur- 
lington in 1833, by immigrants from Illinois. The same 
year Dubuque was founded." * 

Trumbull says, "Iowa is the French form of the Indian 
word Ayuhhuy signifying 'the drowsy or the sleepy ones.' " 

Also a Sioux name of the Pahoja or Gray-snow tribe. 

The name was at first written Aioues; and if applied to 
a tribe of Indians would seem to be simply AJawo,, "across 
beyond," as if to say, "the tribe beyond the river." 

Des Moines is the capital. The name is made up of 
French words ti'anslating literally "of the mounds," express- 
ive of local appearances. The Indian name of the situation 
was Mouingouena or Moaigona of which it is probable the 
Franch have corrupted the word by sound into Des Moines. 

The Indian name of the river was Inya nsha h-shahwakpa , 
"river of red stones." 

Iowa is popularly known as the "Hawkeye State," 
and the application is traced to an Indian chief named 
"Hawkeye," who proved a terror to travelers on the border 
in early days. 

The people are naturally called "Hawkeyes." 

The State motto is, "Our liberties we prize and our 
rights we will maintain." 

Missouri. — The history of the Territory of Missouri is 
given under the the head of Louisiana. 

"In 1819 an Enabling Act was brought forward for the 
State of Missouri, but an amendment prohibiting slavery be- 
ing attached it failed to pass. This opened the Great Slavery 
Contest. Professor Alexander Johnson thus aptly describes 
the situation: 'While the Union was confined to the fringe 

* Barnes' Brief Hi?t. of U. S. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. l(>r> 

of States along tho Atlantic coast the slavery question \vas 
not troublesome; and it was at first jiossible to \inite the rep- 
resentatives of both sections in the admission of new States 
in which slavery shoidd be jn-ohibited and those in which it 
should be allowed. But when the tide of emigration had 
crossed the Mississippi and began to till the Tiouisiana Pur- 
chase, conflict was inevitable, for the line was lost. 

"Maine having a})plied for admission was refused unless 
Missouri was admitted with slavery. The Missouri (\)in- 
pi'o)/tise of 1820 was effected, and an act passed permitting 
Missouri to form a Constitution and the admittance with the 
following boundaries: East, the Mississippi; west, the me- 
ridian 94^ 42' passing through the confluence of the Missouri 
and Kansas Rivers; north, parallel 40*^ 80'; south, parallel :5(j° 
80', the famous line north of which the Compromise prohib- 
ited slavery in any other territory forever. I'he Act of ad- 
mission bears date of August 10, 1821. In 1846, on the ad- 
mission of Iowa, the section between the above west line, the 
Iowa line, and the Missouri River was added." 

Missouri was named from the river of the same name. 
The Indian Avord Mis Sonri is compounded from two very 
different languages. Mis [Algonquin] "great," SoxH [Da- 
cota, commoidy called Sioux] meaning "muddy;" in best 
English "big muddy." 

The Dacota derivation traces it to Miiiiii-s/i<ish<i or 

SJioshay, "muddy water," which was the name by which 

the stream was known to them. 

The name flrst given is in Marcpiette's journal as W^tn- 

essoiiref, and evidently Algonquin. In Baraga's Dictionary 

for "it is muddy," he gives .Ijis/iiiriki, and no word like 

Missouri. 

Variously noted (the stream) by Thevenot ()ii-i)iissoiirl, 

similar to Marquette's \V< tnessmirct, the Algontpiins also 

called the river Pel'itatmiii. 

The capital is Jp:ki"i:kson City and was so name(l in 

honor of President Thomas Jefferson. 

The flrst settlement was matlw at St. (Tcnevieve in iTTj^. 

Some authorities uive Fort Orleans near Jefl'erson Citv in 



106 lIl;STOIiIVAL AND GEOGliAPllIVAL 



1710. 

The Missouri 'Jog.' — "The offset iu the southeastern 
jjart of Missouri, consisting of the counties of Pemiscot, 
Dunklin and New Madrid, furnishes some interesting history. 
'At the time of the admission of Missouri, Colonel John 
Walker owned an extensive plantation in Pemiscot County. 
Walker was a man of more than ordinary ability, and was 
generally looked on as a leader by the people of that region. 
All this country was then recognized as a part of Missouri 
Territory. New Madrid was an important trading post, and 
an immense traffic was carried on between the French and 
Spanish traders and the various tribes of Indians in Southern 
Missouri and Western Tennessee. New Madrid claimed and 
exercised jurisdiction as far south as Pemiscot Bayou, which 
flows into the Mississippi River about three miles north 
of the present line, between Missouri and Arkansas. Wal- 
ker acknowledged allegiance to the Territory of Missouri, 
inasmuch as the laws were administered by the authorities at 
New Madrid. 

" 'When Missouri applied for admission into the Uuiou, 
the parallel 36° 30' was suggested as the southern boundary 
of the new state. Walker at once saw that if this line were 
adopted, he would be left in unorganized territoiy, inasmuch 
as nhe line crossed the Mississippi about twenty-live miles 
north of his possessions. His worldly means as well as his 
indomitable pluck gave him influence, and he set to work in 
earnest to prevent the threatened disaster. He interviewed 
the commissioners appointed to fix the boundary, and so elo- 
quently did he plead his cause, that the commissioners finally 
agreed to take the area north of the 36th parallel and between 
the Mississippi and St. Francis rivers into the state.' " — 
HedvKufs Manual of Geo^rapJxy. * 

* The history of this 'Jog' was furnished Mr. Kedway through the courtesy 
of Hon. A. A. Lesueur. Secretary of State of .Missouri. At the time of Mr. Red- 
way's request for the information wasi'eceived, nothing concerning it was on 
tile m the archives of the state. Mr. Lesueur immediately began an investiga- 
tion of the matter. The tacts were finally obtained and presented by Senator 
George W. Carleton, after an extended search. All the parties concerned iu 
the history of the offset are dead, and the iaformatiou was passing into the 
traditional state. 

In the collection of data for this work we have found the hislory of many 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 107 

Missouri is familiarly known as the "Pukk State." 
Tbis inelegant application took place in 182 7 at the Galena 
Lead Mines, where, throughout' the mining craze, so many 
Missonrians had astcmbled, that those already there declar- 
ed the State of Missouri had taken a "puke." 

Also the "Iron State" from the noted "Iron" moun- 
tain in the southern part. 

The people are familiarly termed "PrKEs." 

The State mottoes are, "United we stand, divided we 
fall," and Sahts j^opuli siiprema lex esto, "The welfare of 
the people is the supreme law." 

Kansas. — After the States of Louisiana, Arkansas, 
Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota had been taken from the Lou- 
isiana Purchase there was left a large unoccupied tract known 
as the Platte Country. 

After the discovery of gold in California emigration 
began pushing rapidly westward. "Long trains of settlers 
were moving into the Arkansas and Platte Valleys, and 
through them to Oregon and California. In 1851 the inhab- 
itants of the Platte Country a}»plied for organization as a 
Territory, but the request was not acted upon. In 1852 a 
bill was introduced into Congress to the same effect. Being 
on the eve of a Presidential election it again failed. In 1854 
(January 23) the Southern or slavery element being sure of 
its strength, introduced into the Senate through Stephen A. 
Douglas, the Kansas- Nebraska bill, providing for two ter- 
ritories between the Missouri River and the Rocky Moun- 
tains; one west of Missouri between parallels 37° and 40° to 
be called Kansas, and the other north of latitude 40° to be 
called Nebraska. The bill also repudiated as unconstitution- 
al and repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, whereby 
slavery was forever prohibited north of latitude 36° 30', and 
provided that hereafter any Territory was free to admit or 
exclude slavery as its inhabitants saw fit. The bill passed 
and the Territories were organized.* On the formation of 

interesting and important features to be wht-lly lost to the official records, and 
several scraps of iiiformatioii, hitherto unpuiilished have been secured only 
after a tedious and expensive investigation. 

*THEWEhTERN BOUNDARIES OF KANSAS, NEBRASKA AND DAKOTA.— 

"Pronably the majority of students who have consulted recent maps of Kan- 



108 HIISTOlilCAL AND GEOGKAPIIJCAL 

Dakota and Colorado, Nebraska ceded to the former all north 
of parallel 48°, and to tlie latter the section between latitude 
40'^ and 41'^ and meridians 102° and 10G°, receiving, howev- 
er, a section west of the Rocky Mountains from Washington 
and Utah, between latitudes 41° and 48° west to the 110th 
meridian. On the formation of Idaho in 1863 all north of 
the forty-first parallel and west of the I04th meridian was 
given to that Territory. 

"Upon the organization of Kansas Territory in 1854, 
under an act leaving the slavery question to the decision of 
the Territorial Legislature, a long struggle began, most bit- 
ter, as it was the last legal contest to establish slavery in a 
new territory." — 3Iar: Comi's Historical Geoyra2')h\j. 

* "In Pepteraber 1857, the friends of the slave- system 
met in Convention at Lecompton, on the Kansas River, and 
then the Tenitorial capital, and adopted a State (.Constitution, 
[known as the Lecompton Constitution] in which it was de- 
clared that 'the rights Of property in slaves now in the Terri- 
tory shall in no manner be interfered with;' and it forbade 
any amendment of the instrument until 1864. It was sub- 
mitted to the votes of the people in December following, but 
by the terms of the election law then in force, no person 
could vote against the Constitution, The ballots were en- 
dorsed: 'For Ihe Constitution with slavery' and 'For the 
Constitution vnthout slavery.' In either case, a constitution 
that would foster and protect slavery would be voted for. 
The consequence was that a large portion of the friends of 
the free-labor system refused to A'ote, and the Lecompton 
Constitution was adopted by a large majority. 

sas, Nebraska and Dakota have noticed that the western boundaries of thtse 
divisions extend a little beyond the lOSnland J04th meridians respectively. On 
small section maps the rtitfernece is so slight that the ONorlapping- can be shown 
only by considerable exaggeration, but on state maps it is very noticeable. The 
discrepancy came about b> carelessness in the act whereby these divisions 
were erganized. Under this act the boun'Iaries were set, not on the 102nd and 
104th meridians, but 25 degrees and 27 degrees respectively, west of Washing- 
ton, probably on the ern neons supposition that this meridian was exactly 77 
degrees west ot (ireenwich. As a matter of fact, the meridian of Washnigton 
is 77 degrees 3 minutes plus, wist of the prime meridian, and it became neces- 
sary therefore to relocate these boundaries about two and a half miles wesi of 
their former location."— Kekway's Manual. 
* Lossing's Our Country. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. lOU 



"R. J. Walker, of Mississippi, had now succeeded Gov- 
ernor Geary, and when an election for a new Territoi'ial Le<?- 
islatnre occurred, he assured tlie people that justice should 
prevail. Encouraged by these assurances of an honest man, 
the friends of free-labor gevierally voted, and the law-makers 
then elected were chiefly composed of their political friends. 
They also elected their candidate for Congress. That Legisla- 
ture ordered the Lecompton Constitution to be submitted to the 
people of Kansas for their adoption or rejection, and it was 
rejected by at least ten thousand majority. The President 
of the Republic regardless of this expressed will of the peo- 
ple of Kansas, sent the rejected Constitution into Congress, 
with a message recommending its ratification. 'It has been 
solemidy adjudged by the highest tribunal known to our laws,' 
said President Buchanan, 'that slavery exists in Kansas bv 
virtue of the Constitution of the United States. Kansas is 
therefore, at this moment as much a slave State as Georgia 
or South Carolina.' Congress did not ratify it, but ordered 
it to be again submitted to the people of Kansas, when thev 
rejected it by an overwhelming majority. From that ht)ur 
the controlling political power in Kansas was wielded bv the 
free-labor party. Their strength steadily increased, and just 
as the great Civil War was a-kindling, Kansas was admitted 
as a free State by Act bearing date of January :>9, 1861, 
wdth a western limit of the lUi*d meri<lian.''' 

The State received its nanie from its principal river, 
and the name was adopted in 1S54. 

The river is named from a tribe of Indians formeilv in 
that locality, known as the Jutnsos or Junes, the word mean- 
ing "smoky water." 

The name was spelled by early settlers, Cannon, Eon- 
son, Kanzas, and it was finally regulated by Legislative ac- 
tion to Kansas. 

Kansas is said by some to have been first settled at Ft. 
Leavenworth in 18.50, by others, at Atchison in 1854. 

ToPKKA is the capital. The name comes from the Indi- 
an word Topeakea, "a good place to dig potatoes," to, 
"potato" (the wild kind), pe, "good," okae, "to dig." 



no ni,STORl<JAL AND GKOaiiArUlLAL 



[The words have the same meaniiig among the Otoe, Omaha, 
Iowa and Kaw tribes.] 

The State of Kansas is popularly known as the '^Iakdex 
OF THE West," on account of its productiveness, it« many 
water courses offering ])erfect irrigation. 

Also known as "Central State" from its geographi- 
cal jtosition. 

The i)eople of Kansas are sometimes termed "Jay 
Hawkers," a cant name applied to a Ouerrilla [a lawless 
band so called during the early part of the Civil War, who 
carried on an irregular warfare that gained the name of Jay- 
hawking. J The ])hrase orignally attributed to "Gay York- 
ers," a sobriquet given a Colonel Jennisou [of New YorkJ 
and his soldiers who were stationed at one time in one of the 
forts of Kansas. 

'^riie motto of Kansas is. AiJ d.-ifrn per (f.yy'i'x, "To the 
stars tiirouuh all difKculties." 

Nebraska. ^—For the history of the formation of Ne- 
braska Territory see Kansas. 

"Though fx>rmed as a Territory at the same time as 
Kansas, Nel)raska did not become a State until much later. 
First, the slavery question turned the tide of emigration to 
the more southerly State, then the war stopped it almost en- 
tirely. After the completion of the Central Pacific Railroad, 
however, the fertile lands of the Platte River attracted set- 
tlers, and a prosperous Commonwealth applied for admission 
as a State. By Act of Congress it became a State March 1, 
1867, the bill being passed over the President's (Johnson) 
veto. As constituted it has the Missouri River for its east- 
erly boundary, the 104^ meridian for its western line, the 
48 -' parallel on the north, and the 40^ parallel on the south 
from the Missouri River to the 102'^ meridian, thence the 
line runs north to the 41"^ parallel, thence west to the 104^ 
meridian. 

The name Nebraska is from the Indian name of the 
present Platte River, meaning "shallow water," JS^e, water, 
bras, shallow. The name is also interpreted, "water valley" 
and "flat countrv." 



MIS CELL ANY OF THE UNITED S TA TEIS. 1 1 1 

The nickname "Black- water'" is sometimes used in 
reference to Nebraska, owing to the dark color of the water 
forming its principal streams, the drainage of its rich, black 
soil. 

The nickname "Hrd-KATKiis," is applied to the people 
of Nebraska, '-from the numerous Bug-eaters as locally nam- 
ed, the typical species of C'ai)rimulgus, the Night-Jar \V. 
europfeus]. It is about the size of a thrush. They are 
sometimes called Bull Bats, ])eing accused by the ignorant of 
sucking milk from cows, lie is a bird of evil omen in the 
estimation of the rural population. The reverse shouhl be 
the case, for the benefit he produces in clearing the air of 
noxious insects is incalculable.''' 

The capital is Lin('<»i.n. ".Vt the time it was made the 
Ca])ital City it was named -Lincoln' 'as a compliment to 
President Abraham Lincoln, having ]»reviously been named 
Lancaster." 

The State was first settled at Bellevue, neai- Onuilia. in 
184':. 

The State motto is "p]quality before the law." 

NORTHERN STATES. 

Michigan. — "Michigan Territory, when first created in 
1H05, embraced the section between Lakes Erie, Huron and 
Michigan being made from the Northwest Territory remain- 
ing north of the Ohio line, and that ])ortion of Indiana Ter- 
ritory lying north of the parallel passing through the most 
southern extremity of Lake Michigan, and east of Lake 
Michigan. On the entrance of Illinois as a State, in 1818 all 
that portion of Illinois Territory north of 42^ 80' extending 
west to the Mississip})i was added to Michigan Territory. 
In i8.34 when Missouri Territory lost its nominal existence, 
all that portion north of the State of Missouri, west to -the 
Missouri and White Earth Rivers and north to the intenui- 
tional line was also adiled. (F<u" a vivid and accnrate delin- 
eation of the devehjpment of North-west Territory see the 
excellent colored maps in ^^ll.(^ (J<)uii\^ IIlMnriral Geoyrdphy.) 

"In 1835 the ])eople of Michigan, in convention assem- 
bled, formed and ratified a Constitntion and ajjplied for a<l- 



11:^ HISTOEIGAL AND GEOGRAPHKJAL 

mission. It was admitted June 15, 1836, with its present 
limits, a strip from its southern border on Lake Erie, to con- 
forju with the Indiana line, being given to Ohio, and the up- 
per j»euinsular or Lake Superior country being given to it in 
compensation. The first settlement iu the west was made by 
the French in this State (1629) but owing to shorter lines 
of travel from the Atlantic States the States along the Ohio 
filled u|) more rapidly, and thus it happened that two liun- 
dred years elapsed before Michigan took her place as a State 
in the Union." 

The first permanent settlement was made, we believe, at 
Detroit, by the French in 1701, some authorities say in 1670.* 

Michigan is named from the lake on its western border. 

Trumbull says: ''The word is Inaian, signifying 'a 
weir offish,' given the lake from its fancied resemblance to 
a fish-trap." 

In the Ottawa dialect the word is Mitckikan, originally 
given to Mackinac, and meaning "fences," as if the islands 
were lying fence-like before the upper lake; later the word 
was changed to MachUdf/anirtg. 

Algonquin Michi^ great, garni,, lake. 

Chippewa mit-chi, great, saiog-ye-gah, lake. 

Variously called and spelled Gitchee-Gomee,, "great 
water," Mitrhaw, great or mighty, Sagiegan., lake, "great 
lake." Mlchsavigyegan^ "lake country." Hennepin spelled 
the word 3Tissi-chagarien and Mischigonong, Michigane (by 
Joliet), 1673 Missihiganin, 1682 Mitchiganong, 1688 Michi- 
gami, and by others as Alisstganiti, Michihigatdng, Michi- 
gonong, Lac des Illinois, Lac Dat(phin. — ToicnsencVs U. /S. 
Index. 

The capital is Lansing, so called in honor of Abram Ja- 
(?ob Lansing of Renselaer Co., N. Y. , a large land holder of 
this section. Originally called "Michigan." 

* In 1665 some attempts were made to establish missionary stations near the 
southwestern extremity of Lake S-iperior, and at or near Green Bay on Lake 
Michigan; and in 1668 the mission ot St. Mary was founded by Claud Allonez, 
James Marquette and Claud Dablon, on the southern ?hore of the strait be- 
tween Lake Superior and Lake Huron. This was the first settlement made by 
Europeans within the boundaries of the State of Michigran.— Dillon's History 
of the N. W. Territory. 
Montgomery gi%'e8 the first settlement as being- made at Mackinaw about 1680 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. J hi 

Michigan is the "Lake Statk," its shoves being honnd- 
ed by four of the ''great hikes," Superior, ]\Iicliigan, Huron 
and Erie. 

Also "Wolverine State," owing to the great number 
of these animals ( Gi/lo lifsri(s) formerly aboumling in the 
State. The wolverine is especially obnoxious to hunters, as 
it takes the bait from their traps, and discovers the stores of 
provisions that they have hidden as they advanced, and on 
Avhich they depend for sustenance on their return. It is 
very voracious and has been known in ca|)tivity to eat thir 
teen pounds of meat in a day. 

The sobriquet "Wolverine" is sometimes applied to the 
people of Michigan. 

The State mottoes are 7\/f//(>/\ "I will defend,"' .SV 
qna^rls peninsulam amm)iaiit circa inspire, "If you seek a 
pleasant peninsula, look around you," and E Pho-ihus Unnm. 
"One out of many." 

Wisconsin. — "On the admission of Michigan as a State 
the balance of the Territory was formed into Wisconsin Ter- 
riti>ry (1836) but two years later (1838) Iowa Territory was 
set off comprising that portion west of the Mississij)pi and 
east of the Missouri. In 1846 Iowa Territory was reduced 
by the formation of the State of Iowa, a:.d in 1848 it was 
united with a part of Wisonsin Territory in forming Minne- 
sota Territory. 

Wisconsin, the last of the five States contemplated in the 
original Ordinance of 1787, was admitted May 29, 1848. 
According to that ordinance her north-west boundary should 
have extended to the source of the Mississippi and the inter- 
national boundary line, but geographical influences were at 
work. The line was drawn up the St. Croix, and the inhab- 
itants who had come up and settled on both sides of the Up- 
per Mississippi, whose interests were one, were united polit- 
ically as well as socially. 

The State was settled at Green Bay by the French in 
1745. Some authorities give the date as early as l(j(H). 

The State is named from its principal river named by 
Marquette as Afiinron.si.n, "wild rushing channel,'" change 



IIJ, HI ;S TO HI UAL A^IJ GEOGUArillUAL 

passing Oaisconsin, to Wisconsin. 

The present spelling is f rojn a misprint, all the early 
French documents have (hdsconsing or Mtseotifuu/, and this 
version seems to come from Mirosi, "it is red." n7.s//rv»/.s 
means "a small beaver lodge." 

There are several other spellings, Otn'skonrhe, Mescon- 
Hing, ^Visko')lsan. Thevenot uses MissioKsitK/. 

Madison is the capital, named in honor of President 
James Madison. 

Wisconsin is the "Baixjkr State," the application ])e- 
ing made from the representation of a badger on the State 
Coat of Arms originally applied owing to the great number 
of l)adgers formerly in the State. 

The people are very naturally nicknamed "Bai>«;krs.'''' 

The State motto is "Forward," and E Pliirihns Uxiidi, 
"One out of many." 

Minnesota. — "On the admission of Wisconsin in 184s 
the balance of the Territory was united with that of 
Iowa Territory, and the whole named Minnesota Territory, 
extending from the Wisconsin line to the Missouri River and 
from the Iowa line (48^ 80') to the national boundary. 

Minnesota with limits consisting of so much of the Ter- 
ritory lying east of the Red River of the North, had, with 
the extension of railways, been rapidly increasing its popula- 
tion until now she was entitled to admission as a State. A 
Constitution prohibiting slavery was formed and the State 
admitted. May 11, 1858." 

The State was settled at St. Paul by Americans in 1846. 
A number of authorities give Fort Snelliug as the first set- 
tlement, 1819. 

The Minnesota 'Jo«. ' — *"There are few students of 
geography who have failed to notice the peculiar effect upon 
the northern part of Minnesota. It is the only place where 
the boundary of the United States, the Alaskan possessions 
excepted, reaches farther north than the 49th parallel. This 
irregular knob is another instance of the difficulties arising 
from an unskillful determination of latitude. The limits of 

*Ko(Iway's Manual of (iodgrnphy. 



MIS CELL A N^ ' OF THE UNITED IS TA TES. lir> 

the United States Avere first Laid down in the provisional 
treaty of I '782. In the second article that })art of the liortli- 
ern boundary line involved is specified as follows: — . . . . 
thence through Lake Superior northward of the Isles Royal 
and Philippeaux to the Long Lake, thence through the middle 
of said Long Lake and the water communication between it 
and the Lake of the Woods to the Lake of the Woods; thence 
through the said Lake of the Woods to the northwestern 
point thereof,and from thence on a due west course to the 
^Mississippi River.' 

"From this it will be seen that although the existence 
iif the Lake of the Woods was definitely known, the Com- 
missioners' knowledge of the head waters of the Mississippi 
l^iver was certainly at fault for want of an accurate map. 
Tliis fact they recognized, and in I7lt4 it was ordered that 
'the two parties will proceed by amical)le negotiations to 
regulate the boundary line in that quarter.' The 'amicable 
negotiations' were i^ot resumed, however, until isiu. The 
treaty made at this time stipvdated as follows: 

" 'It is agreed that a line drawn from the most north- 
western point of the Lake of the Woods along the 49th par- 
allel of north latitude, or if said point shall not be in the 
49th parallel of north latitude, then a line drawn due north 
or south as the case may be, until the said line shall inter- 
sect the said parallel of north latitude and from the })oint of 
such intersection due west ... to the Stony (Rockv) 
Mountains.' 

"But subsequent surveys showed that the northwestern 
point of Lake of the Woods was not on the 49th parallel, l)Ut 
twenty-six miles north of it. So when the survey was con- 
tinned westward, it was begun at a point twenty-six miles 
south of the northwestern point of the lake. An inspection of 
the map of Minnesota in nearly all the geographies will show 
that this offset does not ap|)arently reach to the (extreme 
northwestern point of Lake of the Woods. The maps, how- 
cver, ai-e not in the wrong. The extreme northwestern part 
of the area of water generally charted and included under 
the name of Lake of the Woods is called Lake of the Shoals — 



116 JII/STOEICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

hence the aj)parent discrepancy." 

The name Minnes^ota is from the St. Peter's River, the 
Indian name of which was Minni-sotah , minni, "water," 
sotah, "muddy or slightly turbid/' 

tSofa, Featherstonhaugh says, means "clear," School- 
craft "green," others "turbid;" Nicollet writes, "The ad- 
jective sotah is of difficult translation; Canadians translated 
it by a petty equivalent word hronille, "blear," Minnesotah, 
"blear water" .... true meaning being found in the 
Sioux expression Jshfo-softi/i, "blear-eyed," the Sioux nick- 
name for Darot(f/i. 

"At the time of tlie admission of the State the following 
names were proposed: Itasca, Chippeway, Jackson and 
Washington." 

St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota, was named from, 
the Chapel of St. Paul, a log chapel erected here by Roman 
Catholics. Prior to the a<loption of St. Paul, it was known 
as Pig's-eye, from the nickname applied to a corpulent "one- 
eyed" Frenchman who located a "shanty-saloon" at this 
])oint. The Indiau name was imnijaska, "white rock," 
a reference to the sandstone bluff on which the city stands. 

Minnesota has several nicknames, "•North Star Statk," 
from its motto, JJ Etoile du Xord, "The Star of the North," 
"Gopher Statk," applied on account of the "honey-comb- 
ed condition of the State, incident to its numerous lakes. 
[Applied by the French to a squirrel i^S. Hichardsonii,) na- 
tive of this section, whose peculiarity was the "honey-comb- 
ing" of the earth, probably the ground mole. The word 
"gopher" being an anglicized spelling af the pronunciation 
of the French word gaufre, honey- combed.] 

"Lake State" from the number of interior lakes, the 
number being estimated at 7,000. The census returns of 
1880 gives 4,160 square miles of water surface within the 
State. The lakes ranging downward from 342 square miles 
(Red Lake), of all sizes, and are located in the northern 
(two-thirds) section. 

The people of Minnesota are sometimes called "Goph- 
ers." 



MIISCELLANY OF THE UNITED 1ST AT EH. 117 

The motto of the State is IJEtoUe dn JVord, ^'Tlie Star 
of the North/"' 

North Dakota. — Dakota '^^Perritory was organ ized in 
ISGJ. It included all of Nebraska Territory north of the 
parallel 4:}^ and that portion of Minnesota Territory west 
of the Red River of the North wliieh was not or<;ani/.ed 
into a State Government in 1858. 

In 186:^ i)art of this large area, viz: that jiortion west of 
meridian 1.04"^ was set off to form the Territory of Idaho. 
The following year (1864) she received again from Idaho the 
portion between j)arallels 4:i^ and 45'-^ and meridians 104° 
and 111^ and an additional section between ])arailels 41^ 
and 48- and meridians 104° and 110° only to transfer them 
again in ]^(')H to Wyoming Territory. 

In 1885 Dakota api)lied for admission to tlu- I'nion. 
There was considerable discussion in Congress as to how she 
should be admitted. The Republicans favored the admis- 
sion of the southern half; the Democrats opposed the meas- 
ure, though many Democrats agreed to the admission of the 
whole Territory as a State. 

The i)lan was to divide the Territory, to make the 
southern half a State l)y the name of Dakota and to organize 
the northerii lialf as the, "Territory of Lincoln." TJie 
strongest reijson for the division was the immense area of 
Dakota, which was ecpial to that of all New England, with 
New York, New Jersey and Ohio added. The only States 
which exceeded it in area was Texas and California. 

The matter, however, was laid over until after the 
Presidential election of 1888. In the meantime the northern 
half of the Territory through new and largely developed ag- 
ricultural and mining interests attained a jjopulation caj)al)le 
of self government. On February 22, 1889, Congress j)ass- 
ed an Enabling Act whereby the Territories of Washington, 
Montana and Dakota were authorized to organize States, 
July 4, 188U. 

"An Act to provide for the divi.sion of Dakota into two slates and to ena- 
ble the people ot North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washin^ftGn to 
form constitutions ami state f^overnnients and to be admitted into the Union 
on an eqnal fovtinK' with the original states, and to makf dunatiuns of pnl>- 



118 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHKJAL 

lie lands to such states. 

Sec. 4. That the delegates to the conventions elected as provided for in 
this act shall meet at the seat ot g-overninent of each of said territories, except 
the delegates elected in South Dakota, who shall meet at Sioux Falls, on the 
fourth day of July, eighteen hundred and eighty-Hine, and, after organization, 
shall declare, onbehalf of the people of said proposed st>ite«, that they adopt 
the constitution of the United States; whereupon the said conventions shall 
be, and are hereby, authorized to form constitutions and state governments 
for said proposed states, respectively " 

The Territory of Dakota was divided by an east and 
west line on the seventh range. State Survey or the 46° north 
latitude, and admitted as States by Presiaent Benjamin Har- 
rison's Proclamation, November 2, 1889.* 

North Dakota was first settled at Pembina in 1812. 

The capital is Bismarck, named by German settlers in 
honor of Count von Bismarck of Germany. 

North Dakota has no popular name that has become 
universal in its application, but the one most used is Flick- 
er Tail, on account of the number. of gophers and prairie 
dogs found there. This nickname is likely to become 
permanent, as the daily papers are using it. 

The motto of this State is "Liberty and Union now and 
forever, one and inseperable." 

The name Dakota is from a tribe of Indians, Dacota, 
meaning "allied," from the great confederacy of the north- 
western tribes inhabiting it; prior to which alliance, the Da- 
cota section were known as the Sioux. 

The Algoukins called the Dakotahs JSfadonessieux^ 
"enemies," shortened by the French into Sioux. 

Trumbull translated it "associated," as comrades, the 

*The Territorial name was jealously claimed by both sides of parallel the 
46th, as the worth of "Dakota wheat" had a world wide reputation. A compro- 
mise was the introduction of the prefixes North and South, 

Which of the States was the flrst to be admitted to the Union will never be 
known . The story Is that when the two proclamations were presented for the 
President's signature, somebody raised the question of priority and the Presi- 
dent finding it difficult to decide which to sijfn tirst, ordered the documents, 
which were exactly alike, to be covered down to the blanks leltfor his name. 
Then they were turned face down and rapidly changed about until nobody 
could tpll "which was which." After this they were turned over and the 
President wrote his name on each. The ink was allowed to dry without the use 
of blotting paper, and then the documents were again turned down and agaia 
shuffled about. Thej' were then taken up aud the coverings removed. One of 
them came into the Union ahead of the other the length of time it took the 
President to write his name. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 119 



root being found in other dialects of the same group of lan- 
guages as in the Minitari, ddki, name of a clan or band, dakoe, 
friend or comrade; in the Sioux (Dakota) dialect cota ov coda 
means friend, Dakota, literally "our friends.'" 

Dr. Thomas S. Williamson, says "The proper name, Da- 
kota, signifies allied^ or leagued together, and is equivalent 
to our name United, as applied to the States, and all who 
are not Dakotas, or allies, are considered enemies, and it is 
deemed glorious to kill one of them." 

The name has been spelled various ways — Dahkotah, 
Dacota, Dahcotah, Dakotah. 

South Dakota. — (See North Dakota.) 

The first settlement in South Dakota was begun at Sioux 
Falls in 1857, and a year later at Yankton. 

South Dakota is known as the "Artesian State" from 
the number of artesian wells. 

The motto on the State Seal is "Under God the people 
rule." 

The capital is Pierre, which was named after a famous 
trapper and Indian trader, whose given name was Pierre. 
Tradition has it that he made this site his camping ground 
at a very early date. 

N CRT H- W ESTERN STATES. 

Washington. — "In 1853 Oregon Territory was divided. 
That portion north of the Columbia River and parallel 46'^, 
and east of the Lewis River and meridian 117°, extending to 
the international boundary (49°) and the Rocky Mountains, 
was organized into Washington Territory. Subsequently 
this section was also divided; all east of the 117° meridian 
being included in Idaho when it was organized (1863)." 

For the date of Enabling Act see North Dakota. 

Washington was admitted as a State by the Prcsid»Mit's 
Proclamation November 11, 1889. 

The first settlement by whites within what is now the 
State of Washington was probably at a place called Skamo- 
kawa near the Columbia River; though it is not certain but 
that the first settlement was made at Tumwater, within a 
mile of the State Capitol, in 1845. 



120 IIISTOBIVAL AND GEOGEAPIIICAL 



The State was named in honor of George Wasliington. 

OiA'MPiA is the capital. The word is from the (xreek 
\)lym23as or Olymjms, the name of a mountain in Thessaly.* 
The name "Olympia" was given in ]850 by the suggestion 
of Colonel I. N. Ebey. The name was suggested to him by 
the beautiful snow-capped mountains that form the back- 
ground to the northward: 

"Afar their crystal summits rise 
Like gems ag-aiiist the sunset skies; 
While fur below the shadowy mist, 
In waves of pearl and amethyst, 
Kouiid somber tir and stately pine 
Its dewy, jeweled liiijjiers twine. 
Olympia's g-nds might view with grace. 
Nor scorn so fair a dwelling: phice." 

Washington is popularly known as the "•EvKit(iUEi<:x 
State," from its extensive ])ine forests. Also "Empirk 
State of the Northwest," from its extensive natural re-, 
sources and tine harbors. 

The State has no motto. The old territorial motto was 
Alki, an Indian word meaning "by and by." 

Oregon. — "With the extension of our domain to the 
Rocky Mountains the ownership of the Columbia "Basin came 
into question. In 1792 a Boston ship had discovered the 
mouth of the Columbia. Immediately on the purchase of 
Louisiana the Government sent an expedition which not only 
reached the head-waters of the Missouri but in 1805 crossed 
the mountains and followed the Columbia from its source to 
the sea. A settlement was made at its mouth in 1810. 

"England and Spain both claimed the country by early 

* In the region of air above the clouds moved the higher order of gods, and 
when for the sake of council or intercoui'se they met together, the mcetin^u; 
placewas the summit of oneof those lofty mountains whose heads were hid in 
the clouds, but chief of all, the inaccessible Olympos in Thessaly. Round the 
highest point of it was the palace of Zeus, with the throne on whicn he sat in 
majesty to receive such visits as those of Thetis (Iliad i. 498) when she came to 
plead for her son. . . . The name of Olympos was not couQued to 
the Thcssalian mountain, though it mav have had the earliest, a- in after 
times it had the principal claim to the title, but was applied to no less t^iaii 
fourteen mountains in various parts of the Greek w(H-ld, each of which ap- 
pears to have been regarded as an occasional meeting place if n' it a permanent 
seat of the. gods. Finally, the word was used to designate a region above the 
visible sky, from which, to express its height, it was said a brazen anvil fell 
nine days and nine nights before it reacheil the earth.— jMuukay's Manual of 
Mythology. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATE !S. IJl 

discovery. In 1818 commissioners of England and the 
United States determined the boundary line from the Lake 
of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains on parallel 49°^ 
Beyond the mountains the line was left in abeyance and the 
country open to settler? of both nations for ten years, which 
was afterward extended until definite lines were drawn in 
1846. 

"With the acquisition of Texas came also our settlement 
of the Oregon question with England. 

"At the time of the American Revolution (1770) Cap- 
tain Cook was sent by England to visit New Albion, discov- 
ered by Drake in 1579, and to proceed north in search of a 
northeast passage to Hudson's Bay. It was upon these dis- 
coveries that England based her claim to Oregon. The 
United States claims were the discovery of the mouth of the 
Columbia by Gray, 1792, the exploration of the coinitry by 
Lewis and Clark in 1805-6, the first settlement at Astoria 
iu 18 10. 

"Captain Cook touched no territory below 57- which 
had not previously been explored by Spain and claimed 
by that power under the discoveries of Torrelo in 1542. 
Our title up to 1819 was therefore good as against England 
for the basin of the Columbia. When, however, bv our 
treaty with S])ain (1819) we acquired her title, ours became 
a perfect one and embraced also the more northern claim of 
Spain. 

"England demanded that the Columlna River be the di- 
viding line. The American demand was '54° 40', or fight.' 
When, however, England agreed to an extension of the line 
east of the mountains (49^) to the Pacific, the Government 
assented rather than contend for territory of which they had 
little knowledge. The treaty was signed in 1H46. (See 
Barrows' Oregon.) 

"In 1846, after the establishment of the international 
boundary line a bill was offered in Congress to organize all 
that portion west of the Rocky Mountains between parallels 
42^ and 49° into the Territorv of Oregon. Because the Wil- 



122 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

mot Proviso* was attached to the bill, it was not until 1848 
that su(;h organization was accomplished. 

"In 1858 through a convention organized under direc- 
tion of the Territorial legislature, Oregon formed a Constitu- 
tion which was accepted by Congress, and February 14, 
1859, she became a State." 

The State was first settled at Fort Astoria in 1811, 
(some authorities give 1810) by the American Fur Company 
of which John Jacob Astor was a prominent member. 

There is much difference of opinion among authorities 
regarding the derivation of the name, Oregon. One gives it 
as the former nam(? of the Columbia River, Oregano, Span- 
ish name for the wild sage, "artemesia," which grows 
abundantly on its shores, corrupted by the early trappers to 
Oregan. 

Another authority gives it as coming from origanum, 
the profuse growth of which the early settlers are said to 
have found. (O. vtilgdre. Wild Majoram.) 

Trumbull says, "name comes from an Indian language 
with which the traveler Carver had been for many years fa- 
miliar, and it is the accurate translation into that language 
of the name by which, as Carter had reason for believing, 
the 'Great River of the West' was designated by the tribes 
that lived near it." 

Humbolt advises a supposed recognition of Oregon in 
the woi'd origen — noted by Malte-Brun in his geography 
Oregan — on a map of Mexico published by Antonio Alzate, 
where in regard to the Colorado River is noted cuyo origen 
se ignora; translated, "and it is not yet known where the 
source of this river is situated." 

Prof. Whitney in his Topog-Nomen, claims the Avord as 
of Spanish derivation, from Orejon, which is the regularly 
formed augmentative from oreja, "ear" — orejon, "big ear." 

[An orejon at the present time is a slice, or "big ear" of 
a peach or some other fruit cut off and dried in the sun. 

*"The Wilniot Pi'oviso, named after Mr. Wilmot, Member of Congress from 
Pennsylvania, was a bill providing- that the provision regarding' slavery in the 
Ordinancs of 178" whereby 'neither slavery or involuntary servitude shall ever 
exist in any part of said territory except for crime, whereof the party shall 
tisst be duly convicted' should apply to all newly acquired territory." 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. IQS 

The ear-shape of the piece thus prepared is sufficiently sug- 
gestive of the reason why it came to be tlius named.] 

Mr. Whitney further refers to. Minsheu's Dictionarie in 
Spanish and English, London, 1599, for the word, '■'■Orejon, 
one that hath large eares," and from the custom of the In- 
dians in this section stretching their ears in ornamenting 
them, the Spanish applied the word to the tribe, which 
was written by English-speaking travelers with a <7, the let- 
ter more nearly representing the Spanish J. [This derivation 
is no longer generally accepted as there seems not to be 
scarcely a particle of evidence in its favor. J 

Mr. Red way says, "Some years ago I had occasion to look 
over some old maps and manuscripts concerning the origin 
of this name. So far as I could learn, it first appeared on a 
map as the name of a range of mountains l)etween what are 
now the states of Idaho and Montana. This I'ange is now 
known as the Wind River Mountains, but its name on sever- 
al maps was in the form, '•'■ OKrag<tn,'" wh'iK^h is pretty straight 
French, as American-French names go. It is evidently close 
kin to the Si)anish hurucan and the English hurricane. The 
name Ouragau next appears in conjunction with the river 
now called the Columbia; and when the territory including 
the present states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho were 
formed, the name of the river yvas applied to the territory 
which it drained. I may be wrong as to my conclusions, 
but I think the word is derived from the name the early ex- 
plorers gave to the Ouragan or Wind River Mountains." 

The capital is Salem. The name was carried west by 
emigrants from Massachusetts. Salem is a Hebrew word 
meaning "house of habitation of peace," a contraction or 
shortening of .leru-^alem. The aj)plication was from Psalms 
Ixxvi. second verse, because of the j.eaceful settlement of 
disputes between old and new patentees which had grown 
into a "dangerous jari-e." (iiee TowNsetuPs "?^. /S." also 
Smith'' s Dictionai-y of the Bible.) 

Oregon is nicknamed the "Web-foot Covntry," 
through excessive rains in the winter months, the climate at 
that season being best appreciated by the >' web-foot" 
animals. 



12 J^ IIISTOmCAL AND GEO GRAPHICAL 



Also known as the "Beaver State," owing to the num- 
ber of this class of animals. 

The people are very r.aturally called "Web-feet." 
The people are also called "Hard Cases," slang, ai)i)lied to 
the rough and hardy life as led by the early settlers. 

The motto of Oregon is, "The Union." 

Idaho. — "Discoveries of gold in the Rocky and Bitter 
Root Mountains, in 1862, caused an influx of population and 
the formation of a Territorial Government, March 8, 1863. 
Idaho, as the new Territory was named, was taken from the 
Territories of Dakota and Washington. Its original boun«l- 
aries were: north the international line (49°) from meridian 
104° to 11*7°, thence south by meridian 117° to parallel 42i°, 
thence east to me'-idian 110°, thence south to parallel 41°, 
thence east to meridian 104 °, thence north to latitude 49°. 
When the Territory of Montana was formed in 1864, it was 
wholly taken from this Territory, and the same year the 
balance of her Territory east of the Rocky Mountains was 
re-united to Dakota, while on the formation of Wyoming in 
1868, she contributed also a small section west of the mount- 
ains and east of 111° meridian." 

Idaho adopted a State Constitution August 6, 1889, 
and was admitted to the Union by Act of Congress, July 4, 
1890. 

The State was settled at Fort Hall, in 1834. Some 
authorities say at Pioneer City in 1862. 

The name Idaho is a Shoshone (or Snake) Indian word 
signifying "Gem of the Mountains," or more strictly, "Di- 
adem of the Mountains," referring to the white lustrous rim 
shown by the snow peaks as the sun rises behind or over 
them. The mountains are very abrupt, and the snow drifts 
around their summits in the form of a circle or crescent. 

Said to be also from the [Nez Perce] Indian word, 
Edah hoe, meaning also "Gem of the Mountains." 

Boise City is the capital of Idaho. The name is from 
the river on which it was located, the latter named by the 
French Riviere Boise, "woody river," its banks being thick- 
ly lined with woods. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 125 

"Gem of the Mountains" is the sobriquet of tb is State 
from its name. 

The State motto is Esto perpetua, "Let it be perpetual," 
or "Let it endure forever." 

Montana. — The Territory of Montana was wholly taken 
from Idaho Territory May 26, 1864. 

With Washington and the Dakotas, Montana was au- 
thorized to organize a State government July 4, 1889, and 
was admitted by the President's proclamation November 
8, 1889. 

The boundariesof Mont ma run as follows: Beginning' at a point formed 
by the intersection of the tweuty-seventh deg-ree of longitude west from Wash- 
inston with the forty-fifth degree of north latitude, thence due west on the 
forty-fifth degree of latitude to a point formed by its intersection with the 
thirty-fourth degree ot long:iiude west from Washington, thence due south 
along the thirty-fourth degree of longitude, to a p(jiiit formed by its intersec- 
tion with the crest of the Moclcy Mountains, thence following the crest of the 
Kocky Mountains northward to its intersection with the Bitter Koot Moun- 
tains; thence northward along the crest of the Bitter Ru(jt Mountains, to its 
intersection with the thirty-ninih degree of longitude west from Washington; 
thence along the thirty-ninth degree of longitude no.-thw.ird to the boundary 
line of the British Possessions; thence east wan 1 along that boundary line to 
the twenty-seventh degree of longitude west from Washington; thence 
southward along the twenty -seventh degree of longitude to the place of 
beginning. 

In 1873, Congress, under the erroneous impression that 
a portion of Dakota remained west of Wyoming and 
adjoining Montana, passed an act to attach it to Montana. 
As, however, no such detached area could by any possibility 
have existed, tlie compilers of the Revised Statutes sought to 
give the act effect by shifting a portion of the southern 
boundary of Montana from the parallel of 44"^ 30' to the 
continental watershed, thereby reducing Montana's area. 
The following is the act referred to: 

An Act to re-idjust the western boundary of Dakota Territory: That all 
that portion of Dakota Territory lying west of the one hundred and eleventh 
meridian of longitude which, by erroneous definition of boundaries of said 
Territory by a former act of Congress, remains detached and distant from Da- 
kota proper some two hundred miles, be and the same is hereby attached to the 
adjoining territory of Montana. (Forty-second Congress, third session.)— See 
Gannett's Boundaries in Bulletin i;J of the Geol. Survey, p. Mi. 

The Director of the Geological Survey furnishes the fol- 
lowing, in detailed explanation of the point in (question: 
"The territory of Idaho was formed in 1863 from parts of 
Washington, Dakota and Nebraska. Its original limits in- 



J^^G HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

eluded besides its present area all of Montana and all of Wy- 
oming. This statement shows that no part of the former 
territory of Dakota could by any possibility have been left 
there. 

"From the original Idaho there was formed in 1864 the 
territory of Montana and in 1868 the territory of Wyoming, 
the latter with its present limits and the former with its 
present limits, with the trifling exception which I presume 
is the matter in question. The south boundary of Montana 
as it was- originally constituted ran on the 45th parallel of 
latitude westward to the 34th meridian west of Washington; 
thence it ran south on this meridian to latitude 44° 30', 
thence west on this paralel to the summit of the Rocky 
mountains, and thence followed the Rocky and Bitter Root 
mountains northwestward. Of course whatever was left of 
the original territory of Idaho remained in Idaho, for the 
territory of Montana was simply cut out of Idaho, but Con- 
gress for some unaccountable reason passed the act quoted, 
the result of which was to shift the boundary west of the 
37th meridian, from the parallel" of 44° 30', to the conti- 
nental divide. Instead of adding something to the area of 
Montana this act diminished this area, since the divide is 
north of the parallel of 44° 30', instead of south of it, as 
was supposed at the time. The area thus taken from Mon- 
tana of course became a part of Idaho." — See United States 
Revised Statutes. 

The earliest settlement made within the borders of Mon- 
tana was in 1808, on the Yellowstone River, where Emanuel 
Lisa established a little settlement called Fort Lisa. Some 
authorities give Helena as the first settlement, (1861). 

The name, Montana, is Spanish — Montana a "mount- 
ain," litei-ally a hilly country (from the Latin Motis, a 
mountain, moutanns, belonging to a mountain.) 

The name was presented to Hon, James M. Ashley in 
1864, who was chairman of the Committee on Territories, — ■ 
suggested to the proposer, owing to the Territory embracing 
a large portion of the Rocky Mountains and its spurs. 

Helena is the capital of Montana. The name is "from 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 121 

the Latinized Greek word, Helen." The name is that of a 
female relation of John Sojnnierville, who suggested it at a 
meeting of several hundred niiners in 18(;4, as a name for 
the settlement. — ToicnsetuVs U. S. 

Helen of Troy was beautiful, so is her namesake, Hel- 
ena of Montana. — Northwest Mafjuzitw, June., 1890. 

Montana is nicknamed the "Bonanza State," because 
of her rich resources of precious metals. 

There having been no provision made in the Stale Con- 
stitution, when adopted, for a State Seal, the Territorial 
Seal was continued in use until the Legislative Assembly 
made such provision by an Act approved March i', isi»8. 
On the State Seal the Territorial motto, Oro Y Plata, is 
retained. The words are pure Spanish, the English transla- 
tion of which is "Gold and Silver." 

^A^yoming. — "On July 25, 1K6S, Congress passed an Ad 
forming a new Territory called Wyoming, lying between 
parallels of latitude 41^ and 45^^, and from meridians 104° 
to 111°, from portions of Nebraska, Dakota, Idaho and 
Utah. It was admitted to the Union July 1 1, 1H90. with 
its original boundaries." 

Tlie first settlement was made at Cheyenne in 18(j7. 
Some authorities give Fort Laramie as the tirst settlement, 
with date of ISO 7. 

The name of the State is from the beautiful valley on 
the Susquehanna River in eastern Pennsylvania, where oc- 
curred the Indian massacre in 1778. The name was cari'ied 
west by emigrants from this section. The name is supposed 
to be a corruption of the Indian MaiKihii'anirame, signifying 
"great plains." 

Townsend says the word is derived from the Delaware 
expression ni^ c/a-.aoiiii or jii'da inrami, meaning '*great 
]»lain." 

The capital of Wyoming is Ciikvkxnk. The mime is 
a Sioux Indian word, S/iauiia or Shijennt, meaning "people 
of another language," corrupted by the French into the 
j)resent spelling, the pronunciation as heard by them and 
interpreted, meaiit "dog"-soldiers {(/lien, "dog"). 



12S HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPIIIiJAL 

Wyoming is the "Et^UALiTY Statk," so called from the 
motto on her State Seal, which is "Ecjiial Rights." 

In the northwest corner of the State is the Yellowstone 
or National Park, more properly known as the National 
Yellowstone Park. 

This wonderland, comprising about 3,600 square miles, 
was set apart by an act of Congress in 1872, "as a perpetual 
reservation for the benefit and instruction of mankind." Its 
))Oundaries as fixed by the recent Senate Bill are as follows: 

Beginning- at a point on the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude, where 
said parallel is intersected by the western boundary of tiie state of Wyoming', 
thence cue east to the easterly or right bank of the Yellowstone Hiver; 
thence up said bank of said river at high-water mark to the mouth of the 
East Fork of Yellowstone River (sometimes called Lamar Hiver); thence up 
the right or northerly bank, at high-water mark, of Bast Fork of Yellowstone 
Hiver (sometimes called Lamar River) to the inteisecti.)n of said stream 
with the parallel of 44 degrees 5(i minutes north latitude; thence east along said 
parallel to the meridian of 110 degrees west longitude; thence due souih to the 
parallel of 44 degrees 45 minutes north latitude; thence east along said par- 
allel to the meridian of 109 degrees 45 minutes west longitude; thence due south 
aloug' said meridian to the 44th parallel of north latitude; thence due west 
along said parallel to the meridian of 110 degrees 40 minutes we.st longitude; 
thence due north on said m(u-idian to the parallel of 44 degrees 10 minutes 
north latitude; thencedue west along said parallel t) its p )int of intersection 
with the west boundary of the state of Wjoniing ; thence due north alonj? said 
boundary lineof Wyoming to the placeof beginninii; and it shall be the duty 
of the Secretary of the Interior to cause an accurate survey ti> be made of the 
boundary lines of said park as established by this act, and to ca ise the bound- 
aries to be plainly marked, said survey to be recorded in the offices of the sur- 
veyor-general and Commissioner of the General Land Office of the United 
States, as provided by law. 

WESTERN STATES. 

Colorado. — "The same Congress (1861) that admitted 
Kansas, also organized the Territory of Colorado, consisting 
of portions of the Territories of Kansas, New Mexico, Nebras- 
ka and Utah, lying on both sides of the Rocky Mountains, 
between parallels 37'^ and 41°, and meridians 102° and 109°. 

"Colorado applied for admission to the Union ten years 
before she was admitted. The discovery of gold east of the 
Rocky Mountains quickly brought a population entitling her 
to admission as a State. Congress passed an Enabling Act 
March 3, 1875. A State Constitution was formed, submit- 
ted, and ratified by a popular vote July 1, 1876. As provid- 
ed in the Act, the President one month later, August 1, 1876, 
announced the admission of Colorado to the llnion without 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 129 

further legislation.''' 

The tirst settlement was made at Conejos (Conayos) 
on the Las Animas River prior to 1S4S. The Green Rus- 
sell's party of Georgia miners christened their camp, six 
miles above Denver, "Montona Diggins" in 1858. Soon 
"Auroria," (West Denver) probably in the autumn of 1858, 
was started; then the camps near Idaho Springs, George- 
town, Black Hawk and Central City. 

The name Colorado is Spanish and means, "red color," 
and was first applied, geographically, to the river draining 
the western slope of the State into the Gulf of California. 
The waters of the stream are usually limpid and pure, but 
when swollen by heavy rains, they sweep down immense vol- 
umes of red sand, mud and silieious pebbles. The Indian 
name was Pashdhono. 

It was hence quite natural to transfer the name of the 
River to the drained region from which it flowed. It was 
ecpially natural to name both river and i-egion from the re<l 
cliifs on the banks of the one and the bounds of the other. 

Before the Mexican War the great "Las Animas Land 
Grant" was made to a man named Colorado Vigil, and it is 
not improbable that his familiarity and popularity may have 
associated his name with a greater area than ever his ini- 
njense grant by the Mexican Government. 

A European mission to this section, from Mexico in 
1540, was conducted by Vas(juez Coronado, which surname, 
it is thought by some, may be the derivation of the present 
apj)licatit)n. 

Denver is the capital. The name was given after 
James \V. Denver, who was Territorial Governor of Kansas 
in 1858, before Kansas and Coloradi* were separated. The 
mime was ado])ted upon the consolidation in 18ti0 of the 
towu)^ of St. Charles and Aurora. 

Colorado is the "Centkxxiai, State,'" because it was 
admitted in 18V6, the Centennial year. 

The people of C'olorado have been called "liitvEKs," 
from the roving dis])Osition of its settlers, at the time of the 
Pike''s Peak i^old fever. 



L'iO JIISTOltlCAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 



The State motto is Nil sine nimiinc, ''Nothing without 
God." 

California. — "Sir Francis Drake, in laTU, sailed along 
the coast of California, naming it New All)ion. In 1769, 
the Spaniards established the mission of San Diego and in 
1776, one at San Francisco. In 1808, they had eighteen 
missions Avith over 15,000 converts, and the government of 
the country was in the hands of the Franciscan monks. The 
Mexican revolution, in 1822 overthrew the Spanish power in 
California, and, soon after, the Franciscans were stripped of 
their wealth and inttaence. In 1831, the white population 
did not exceed five thousand. From 184'5 to 184 6, many 
emigrants from the United States settled in California, and, 
under the leadership of Fremont and others, wrested the 
country from Mexico. By the treaty at the close of the 
^lexican war, Upper California was cedecU to the United 
States. It embraced what is now known as California, Ne- 
vada, Arizona, Utah, and parts of Kansas, Wyoming, Colo- 
rado, and New Mexico."* 

"In 1849 Congress began legislation U)oking to the es- 
tablishment of settled governments for the territory acquired 
from Mexico. A tierce cor.test arose over the slavery ques- 
tion. The next year under what is known as the 'Compro- 
mise of 1850,'' an omnibus bill was passed, i»rovid'ng gov- 
ernmetits for California, Utah, an<l New Mexico, leaving to 
each the right to decide upon the slavery question for theui- 
selves. The population of California had increased so rap- 
idly during the excitement following the discovery of" gold 
in 1849 that the people called a convention, formed a State 
Government and, adopting a Constitution prohibiting slavery, 
were admitted September 9, 1850, without having been un- 
der a Territorial gov^ernment. Its prescribed limits are 42^ 
parallel, from the Pacitic Ocean to the 120^ meridian, thence 
south on said meridian to the :59-' parallel of latitude, thence 
by a straight line to the intersection of the 35^' parallel and 
the Colorado River, thence down that river to the mouth of 
tlie (irila River, thence west by the Mexican boundary line to 

*Barnos' Brief History of United States p. :iOf>. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. ISl 

the Pacific Ocean." [The maps in Townsend MacCoun's 
Historical Geography delineating the breaking up of the 
territory west of the Mississii)in will he of s])ecial value to 
the reader at this point.] 

The State was settled by the Hi|»aniards at San Dicyo 
in \lm. 

The name California was first applietl to the gulf on the 
west side of Mexico, then to the Lower California ))eninsula, 
then gradually extended to an indefinite portion of the ad- 
joining continent as far north as 42"- parallel. 

'I'he name is traced by Hale, 1882, to "Las Sergas dc 
Elplandian," a romance published in lolO, written by Gar- 
cia Ordonez de Montalvo, in which a pagan queen named 
Calafia, living in tlie kingdom of California, furnishes an 
army of Amazons to Esplandian, emperor of the (Greeks, to 
aid in defending Constantinople against Eastern infidels. 

The land of Califia is noted as an island '-rich with 
gold, diamonds anii pearls;" the balief of Dr. ILale being 
that, Cortez having thoughts of the expected discovery of 
gold upi)ermost in his mind, that as a western pioneer gives 
the name "Eden" to his new home, so Cortez called liix new 
discovery "California." In some old geographies California 
is laid down as an island. 

Said by some to be from the root of the Spanish Califa 
[calijih] from the Arabic Khalifali^ "successor," from 
K/aihifa, "to succeed." 

H. H. Bancroft (History of California) by fot)t-note: 
The Latin calUlu fornax., or "hot furnace," is the most com- 
mon conjectural derivation, the reference l)eing supposedly 
either to the hot climate, though it was not hot com|)arcd 
with others to which the discoverers were accustomed, or to 
the hot baths, or temescales., of the natives, CaJldux forniis, 
(Udiente forualia., Californo, and Calietitc /lonio, are other 
expressions of the same root, Archibald noting of the last 
that it would be ra,thev homo calienfe, making the name 
Fornicalia, instead of California. 

Another derivation is from c«A^ y//'o/v^/V/, Sjtanish and 
Latin for "cove and vault" or "vaulted cove" from a pecul- 



1^2 UIBTORICAL AND GEOGEAPIIIVAL 

iar natural formation near St. Lucas. 

From the Greek we have Kala phor nea, Kala phora nea, 
Kahi jtlior neia, Kala pliorneia, Kahi ehora nea, or Kalos 
])liornia, variously rendered "beautiful women, " "•moonshine 
or adultery," "fertile land or country," 

Colofon ov C(>lo)\forriia, X\\Q 't>\)?L\ni>\\ for "resin," has 
been suggested. 

In Upper California the idea was a favorite one, that 
the name was of Indian origin, but there was little agree- 
ment respecting details. According to the Vallejos, Alvora- 
do and others all agreeci that it came from Kali forno, the 
information coming from Baja California natives; but there 
were two factions, one interpreting the words, "high hill" 
or "mountain" and the other "native land." E. D. Guilbert 
i-esident of Copala Sinaloa told me "[Bancroft] in 1878 that an 
old Indian of his locality called the peninsula Tchalifalni-al, 
"the sandy land beyond the water." — Tovvnsemrs " ?\ JS. 
Index'''' p. 54. 

The capital is Satramexto. Siicratnento is the Spanish 
for sacrament and the name is alleged to be from a Sjtanish 
Catholic missionary station of this name established here. 

California is popularly known as the "Golden State," 
through its being the most important gold producing region 
in the world. 

The people of California are called "Gold HiTNrERs,"a 
soubriquet of the "forty-nine-ers," whose desire was the 
finding of gold. 

The State motto is Eureka, "I have found it." 

Nevada was organized as a Territory ]March 2, 1801, 
and comprised that portion of Utah west of meridian 11.")^. 
On October 31, 1864, it was admitted as a State, when to its 
Territorial limits was added on the easfanother degree of 
longitude and a section from the Territory of Arizona 
bounded north by the 87'^ parallel, south and west by the 
California line, east by Colorado River and meridian 114 -. 

The first settlement was made at Genoa, at the base of 
the Sierras, in 1850. 

The name of the State is from the mountain ranoe run- 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 133 



ning through the division, the Sierra Nevada. Spanish 
words, Sernido, ''serrated or saw-tootlied," JVeix(d((, 
"snowy,"/. ('. "snowy mountains," the ai)|>lieation to the 
mountains is taken from the Sierra Nevada ^fountains of 
Grenada. [The original projtosition before Congress was to 
name the section "Sierra Nevaihi Territory."] 

The capital is Carsox City, named in honor of Cliris- 
topher Carson, or as more widely known as Kit Carson, the 
noted frontiersman and hunter. 

Nevada is pojudarly known as the "Sage Brush SrAiK" 
(sometimes improperly called the Sage Hen State). The 
water in most of the rivers sinks and only appears at inter- 
vals and hence the valleys produce little or no grass, (xrass 
mostly grows oidy on ridges, footdiills and mountain-sides, 
where the snow drifts and lays until late in the spring; while 
nearly every valley getting but little moisture grows oulv 
sage brush. The grass affords fair pasturage in the summer 
and fall, but when the snows of winter begin to fall, live 
stock and wild game are driven down into the valleys, and 
subsist on the tender tops and seed of the white sage, (Arfc- 
mesia), which is quite nutritious, and thus live till spring. 
Also so named because Artemesio is the only conspicuous 
flora of the State. 

Also called the "Silver State," being applicable to 
its rich silver mines; the Seal of the State outlining the 
industry. 

The people of Nevada are called Sa<;k-iien's, from the 
game bird, Tetrao Arthnesia, [called by Audubon "The 
Cock of the Plains,"] from frequenting and feeding on the 
sage that grows in profusion. The bird is of handsome 
])lumage, and almost the size of a turkey-hen. — Toirnsend. 

The Stale motto is ^^<)l(■ns ef pnfen'^, "Willingand al>le." 
The motto, "All for our Country," occurs upon the State 
Seal. 

TMK TEHHITOKIES. 

Utah was organized as a Territory under the Compro- 
mise of 1H50, (September 0th), from the territory acijuired 
from Mexico by the treaty of ( Juadalupe-llidalgo. aiul cm- 



ISJ, HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 



braced all west of the Rocky Mountains between parallels 
37° and 42° to the California line. This area was reduced 
by the formation, in 1861, of the Territories of Nevada and 
Colorado; in 1864 and 1866, by the extension eastward of 




The New Mormon Temple. 

The new temple, which was dfdicateri April 6, 1893, is built of ••ranite, al- 
most white. Its length is 183?<; feet, its width 99 feet. There are six towers, 
three on the east end and three on the west. The main tower at the e -si end, 
where the entrance is, is 333% feet higrh; the western tower is ra9 teet hish- 
The heiuht of the building' proper is 16T!4 feet. The cost is variously estimat- 
ed from $fi,i 00,000 to $13,0(10,000. 

the limits of the state of Nevada, and in 1868, by the for- 
mation of Wyoming Territory. 

On July 16, 1894, Utah was granted an Enabling Act, 
which names the first Monday in March, eighteen hundred 
and ninety-five as the date on which the people of Utah 
should meet to form a constitution and State government. 

Utah was settled at Salt Lake City by the Mormons 
from Illinois in 1847. 

In March, 1849, the ;Mormons organized the State of 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. 135 

Dtseret, ("boney bee") and adopted a constitution, but 
Congress refused to receive it. Tbrougb the action of Hon. 
Edward Everett, at the time Secretary of State, the name, 
Utah, was adopted. 

The practice of polygamy was the one i)riiicipal thing 
that kept Utah out of the Union for so fnany years. The 
practice of polygamy has been abandoned for several years 
by the churcli and people, and the People's or Church i)arty 
disbanded by its constituted leaders. 

The name Utah is from a tribe of Indians, Utcs, T'^falm, 
or Yittas, which signifies "dwellers in mountains." 

The caj)ital. Salt Lake City, receives its name liom 
the Great Salt Lake, near which it is situated. 

The people of Utah are sometimes called "L'^tes," 
"lUonians,'" "Mormons," and "Saints." 

New Mexico. — The territory of New ^lexico was or- 
ganized Uec. 18, 1850, from that ])ortion of tiie region 
transferred by Mexico to the United States by the treaty of 
Guadalui)e Hidalgo, embraced between the Rio Grande Kiver 
and the California line south of the thirty-seventh parallel of 
latitude, and that portion of the Texas cession of 1850 bound- 
ed east by the 103° meridian, north by the 3S- |)araliel, west 
by the Kio Grande, and south by the 82° parallel. To this 
was added, in 18.58, the strip south of the Gila (Me- la) River, 
acquired by the Gadsden purchase December 80, 18r)8. The 
formation of Colorado territory, in 1.^6 1, anil of Arizona 
territory, in 1863, reduced its area to the present limits. 

The oldest settlement is Santa Fe. The founding of 
Santa Fe is usually attributed to Antonio de E-spejo (158-2); 
but it seems that it is not definitely known when the town 
was founded. It is said to have been a populous Indian 
])ueblo, when visited by the Spaniards in 154'_\ 

If old Spanish records recently discv)vere<l, are to ()c' 
cre<lited, the chapel of San Miguel was built as early as the 
foundation of St. Augustine, Florida. 

Several S))anish explorers and adventurers probable vis- 
ited the site of Santa Fe at a very early date. Among these 
may be mentioned Cabeza de Vaca, in 1537; Marco di Niza, 
in 1539: Coronado, in 1540: and Francisco de B(jnill<i. in 
1581. 



ISO HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

Thei'e 2>vobably is no city of greater historic interest in 
the United States than Santa Fe, it having been the capital 
of New Mexico since 1640. Here is located the "Palace" 
or old adobe government building. P^or two and a (juarter 
centuries this building was the home of the Spanish, and the 
governors of the Republic of Mexi(;o. Since the American 
occupation it has been the abode of the Territorial govern- 
ment. Here General Lew Wallace wrote "Ben Hur," while 
Governor, in 1879 and 1880. 




The Palace. 

The name, New Mexico, was given the Territory as a 
distinguishing name from "old" Mexico, it having been a 
former possession of Mexico. The name, Mexico, is from 
the Aztec god "Mexitli." The territory was called Nova 
Mexlcana by Antonio de Espejo. 

The capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe. In the re- 
cords of former governments Santa Fe is mentioneil as the 
city of Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis. The name is 
said also to have been given by Espejo in 1.382, Jyi Cimhid 
de la Santa Fe de San Francisco', "the City of the H.)ly 
Faith of St. Francis," St. Francis being the patron saint. 

New Mexico is sometimes referred to as the "land of 
sunshine, silence and adobe," or the "land of sunshine an<l 
poco tiempo, or mananoy The houses of New Mexico are 
nearly all built of adobes, or sun-dried brick. Pnco tiempo, 
in the Spanish language means ''in a little time," or "short- 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES 137 

ly," manmio, is the Spanish for "to-morrow." It is said 
that the native population of New Mexico "never do to-day 
what they can put off till to-morrow," lience the land of a 
"little time," or "to-morrow." 

During the Mexican War, the Americans called the 
Mexicans "greasers," and the Mexicans called the Americans 
"gringos." 

The term, "greaser" was applied to the Mexicans, who 
had more Indian than Spanish blood. 

The Americans, during the Mexican War, used to sing 
a song called "Green grow the rushes, oh!" which was very 
popular at that time. The American Army used to sing the 
song at all points in Mexico and sometimes on the march. 
The Mexicans did not understand one word of English and 
the words sounded like "gringos" to them, and supposing it 
to be the National song of the Americans tliey have since 
called the Americans, "gnngos." 

The jnotto on the Territorial seal is XJrescit Euniht, 
"It increases by going." 

Arizona was organized as a Territory February 24, 
1863. As first constituted it embraced all that portion of 
the 'J'erritory of New Mexico l}ing north of the Gila River 
and west of the 109^ meridian, subsequently that portion of 
the Mesiilla Valley south of the Gila, west of the same mer- 
idian was included. On the admission of Nevada as a State 
in 1864, it lost the small section west of the Colorado River 
and meridian 114°, which was included in that new State. 

The oldest settlement of Arizona is a matter of serious 
doubt. Tucson is generally accepted as the most ancient 
pueblo (village). As it was a town of the Pima Indians in 
1540, (when visited by Coronado), some take that date. 
There seems to be better authority for the occupation of this 
Indian village by Spaniards in 1630. Yet after this the 
whole region was abandoned for many decades, and the date 
of the return of the Spaniards seems to have been lost. The 
Presidio (military station) of Tubac, a short distance south 
of Tucson, was re-established in I7r>2, and it is assumed that 
Europeans again peojiled Tucson shortly after that date. 



138 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

The first government in Arizona was organized atNavajo 
Springs, in the northeastern portion, December 29, 1863, 
John N. Goodwin being the first governor, by virtue of ap- 
pointment from President Lincoln. 

The seat of government was soon removed to Wipple 
Barracks and thence to Prescott, where the 'solid log resi- 
dence of Governor Goodwin is still one of the sights. 

In 1867 the capital was removed to Tucson, whence it 
returned to Prescott in 1877. The executive offices rested in 
Prescott till 1889, when the first act of the sitting legislature 
was to remove the capital and themselves forthwith to 
Phcenix. And at Phoenix it is probably fixed for all time 
to come, in as much as population and accessibility alike 
favor the location, and as capital grounds have been estab- 
lished and improvements begun on the same. 

The name, Phoenix, was given to the city, when laid out 
in 1872, by a member of thetownsite committee, an educat- 
ed Englishman, a rather mysterious character who passed 
nnder the name of Darrell Du])pa. Various patriotic Amer- , 
ican names were suggested as suitable to the occasion, but 
Duppa, referring to the many ruins in the vicinity and even 
on the site, suggested that, as the town was to rise, Pho-nix- 
like, on the ashes of an ancient civilization, the name of the 
fabled bird of immortality would be most appropriate. 

Most authorities record Arizona as an Indian name 
meaning "sand hills." 

The Zuiii Indians had a legend in which a young celestial 
"Arizona," signifying "maiden queen," became the mother 
of twins through some holy medium; these children being the 
original father and mother of the Zufii tribe. 

The word is also attributed to the Aztec, Arizvma in 
the original, the present word being a corruption and ac- 
cepted as Spanish. The Aztec derivation signifies "silver 
bearing," referring to the mountains containing silver, and 
a tradition among the Mexican people, near the frontier of a 
silver mine called "La Arizona." 

It has been suggested that Arizona comes from narizona, 
the feminine form of the Spanish narizon, meaning a "big 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITEL STATES 139 

HOse." On the supposition that time and usage has elimina- 
ted the initial n the name is as it now stands. 

The Territory is often termed the "Land of Sunshine 
and Silver." and also, "The Sun-Kissed Laiid." 

The Territorial motto is, Sitat Dcus, "Founded bj- 
(Jod." 

Indian Territory. — As tlie states east of theMi8sisipi)i 
filled up the government adopted the plan of transporting the 
Indian tribes to specified reservations west of the Mississippi. 
An act of Congress of June 30, 1834, to regulate trade with 
the Indians, declared that "all that j^art of the United States 
west of the Mississippi River and not within the States of 
Missouri and Louisiana or the Territory of Arkansas" should 
be considered the Indian country, a geographical, but not 
an organized i)olitical division. From this wide area, as 
emigration ))ressed westward, Tenritories have been success- 
ively formed until, on the formation of Kansas and Nebraska 
in 1854 it was reduced to the territory within meridians 1)4 42' 
and 100°, and parallel 37° and the Red River. (The Public 
Lands, or "No Man's Land" lying to west was never a part 
of the Indian Territory, as erroneously indicated on many 
maps.) The Territory was not further reduced till March 
27, 1889, when, by the President's Proclamation, Okla- 
homa Territory was o])ened up for settlement by the whites. 
(See Oklahoma). By Act of May 2, 18!)0, the remainder of 
the whole western j)art of the Territory was included in Ok- 
lahoma Territory, leaving the present boundaries of Indian 
Territory as follows: north, the 37"^ parallel; c«s^, the 94"^ 42' 
meridian; sovtii, the Red River; west, the 96° meridian to 
36° 10' parallel, west on this parallel to 96° 38' meridian, 
south on this meridian to the North Fork of the Canadian 
River, west on this river to 96° 47' merulian, south on this 
meridian to the Canadian River, west on this river to the 98° 
meridian, south on this meridian to the Red River, the 
southern boundary. 

The capital of the Territory is TAiu.KiirAii, also capital 
of the Cherokee Nation. Tahlequah is a Cherokee Indian word 
and {)roperlv sjielled according to their ])ronunciati()n is TdI- 



UO IIISrOlilCAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

ikwa. Talikwa or Tellico is a town name dating back pro-b- 
ably to 1*760, and inquiry (Peling says): "develops the fact 
that the Cheroki themselves have now lost its meaning; so 
that we must have recourse to the doubtful process of ety- 
mologizing to supply it. Tali, means 'two', Hkica, means 
'large' or 'great', ekvxihiyi, abreviated to EkvxiM, is "large 
town or place," the final hi or ^ being a locative. The word 
as it stands may then mean place of two large towns". 

Such a meaning is the more likely as the original Tellico 
was near the mouth of the river of the same name in Ten- 
nessee in the heart of the upper Cheroki settlements. — Mal- 
cohn Townsend. 

Oklahoma. — On March 27, 1889, by proclamation of 
the President, a tract of two million acres was opened for 
settlement in the heart of Indian Territory. No one was 
allowed to enter this tract and take up land until twelve 
o'clock, noon, April 22nd, when, at the l)last ot a bugle, the 
border was crossed by more than fifty thousand prospectois 
and home-seekers. 

This tract, originally known as Oklahoma, was the ori- 
gin of Oklahoma Territory; and its boundaries, as first con- 
stituted, were as follows: North, the south line of the 
Cherokee Strip (3e° 10' N. Lat.); East, the Indian Meridian 
(97^ 15' W. Lon. from Greenwich); South, the South Can- 
adian River; AVe^^t, the range line between ranges 8 and 9 
west of the Indian Meridian (S8^ 6' W. Lon.). 

By Act of May 2, 1890, the whole western part of In- 
dian Territory was included, together with the tracts known 
as "Public Land" or "No Man's Land" (q. v.) and the "No 
Man's Land of Texas."* (See Texas.) 

Following is Section 1, of the Act, describing the 
boundaries of Oklahoma Territory: 

* It will be observed that in the Act of May:J, 18!)0, Congress iloes n )t maite 
special mention of "No Man's Lund of Texas," more than to include it, by 
described boundaries, in Oklahoma Territory, which would indicate that it 
was regarded as a poition of the part ot Indian Territory included. The dis- 
crepancy in the minds of geographers, relating to this point, arises from 
the fact that the treaty of 1819 stipulated the boundary between Spain and the 
United States accoi-ding to Welish'smap of the United States, improved to Jan- 
uary 1, 181s. The Congressional enactment of May 'i, 1890, undoubtedly settles 
the matter forever. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. IJ^l 

AN ACT 

To PROVIDE A TEMPOKART GOVERNMENT FOR THE TERRITORV OF OKLAHO- 
MA, TO ENLARGE THE JURISDICTION OP THE UNITED STATliS COURT 

IN THE Indian Territory, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Semite and House of llepresentatives of the United 
States of America in congress assembled, Sec. 1. That all that portion of the 
United States now known as the Indian Territory, except so muchol the same 
as is actually occupied by the live civilized tribes,* and the Indian tribes within 
the (iuapaw Indian Agency, and except the unoccupied part of the Cherokee 
outlet, together with that portion of the United States now known as the Public 
Land Strip, is hereby erected into a temporary government bj' the name of the 
Territory of Oklahoma. The portion ot the Indian 'J'erritory included in said 
Territory of Oklahoma is bounded by a line drawn as follows: Commencing 
at a point where the ninety-eiahthmeiidian crosses the Ked Hiver, thenco by 
said meridian to the point where it crosses the Canadian River, thence along 
said river to the west line of the Seminole Cowntr.v, thence along said line to 
north fork of the Canadian Hiver, thence down said river to the west line of 
the Creek Country, thence along said lint- to the northwest corner of the Creek 
Country, thence along the north line of the Creek Country to the ninety-sixth 
meridian, thence noithward by saidmeridiiin tu the southern boundary line of 
Kansas, thence west along said line to the Aikansas Ui\er, thence down said 
river to thenorth line of the land occupied by the P.)nc<i tribe of Indians fr.im 
which point the line runs so as to include all the lands occ.pied by the Ponea, 
Tonkawa, Otoe and Missouri, and the Pawnee tribes cf Inilians until it strikes 
the south line of the Cherokee outlet whicii it follows westward to the east line 
of the State of Texas, thence by the boundary line of the State of 1'exas to the 
point of beginning; the Public Land Strip which is included in said Territory 
of Oklahoma is bounded east by the one-hundredth meridian, south by Texas, 
west by Nrw .Mexico, north by Colorado and Kansas. Whenever the interest 
of the ("herokee Indians in the land known as the Cherokee outlet shall have 
been extinguished and the President shall make proclamation thereof, said 
outlet shall thereupon and without further I egislatiiai, become a part of the 
Territory of Oklahoma. Any other lands within the Indian Territory not em- 
braced within these boundaries shall hereafter become a part of the Territory 
of Oklahoma whenever the Indian nation or'tribe owning such lands shall sig- 
nify to the President of the United States in legal manner its assent that such 
lands shall so b'-comea part of said Territory ul dklahoma, and the President 
sha'l thereupon make proclamation to that effect, tongre-'s may at any time 
hereafter change the boundaries of said Territory, or attach any portion of the 
same to any other State or Territoi-y of the United States without the consent 
of the inhabitants of the Territory herebj- created: PitoviDKO, That nothing 
in this .Act shall be construed to impair any ri^ht now pei-taining to any In- 
dians or Indian tribe in said Territory under the laws, ngivemciits and treaties 
of the Uuitel States, or to impair the rights of person or property pertaining 
to said Indians, or to effect the authority of the governnif-nr of the United 
States to make any regulation or to make an.\ law respecting said Indians, their 
lands, property, or other rights which it would have been competent to make 
or enact if this Act had not lieen passed. 

Sec. 3. ....... . ... 

The Cherokee Stri}) was not oi»eiied for .•^ettleineiit until 
twelve o'clock, noon, September 16, ]893.f 

* The tive civilized tribes are the ( herokces, Chickasaws, Choctaws, 
Creeks and Seminoles. 

t This great tract of land bordering upon the Kansas line from the 96th me- 
ridian IHO miles west and 58 miles in breadth, had, in l.'^24, been gi\en to the 



11^2 IIIISTORKJAL AND GEOGRAPUliJAL 

The boundaries of Oklahoma, as now constituted, may 
l)e traced upon a good map of tlie United States as fol- 
lows: Beginning at a jtoint formed by the intersection of 
the 108'^ degree of longitude, west from Greenwich, with 
the •'57'^ of north latitude, thence due east to the Oij- of west 
longitude, thence south to the '-W-" lU' of north latitude, 
thence west to the 96^ 38' of west longitude, thence south 
to the North Fork of the Canadian River, thence west along 
the course of the North Fork of the Canadian River to the 
i)0 40' of west longitude, thence south to the Cana<lian 
River, thence west and north-west along the course of the 
Canadian River to the 98^ of west longitude (survey of IH.'^i) 
and 1871, which lacks nearly three minutes of longitude of 
being as far west as 98° of recent surveys), thence south, 
by slightly west, in a direct line to the intersection of the 
98*^ of west longitude (recent surveys) with the 34-^ of north 
latitude, at which point the 98° of west longitude also meets 
the Red River, thence west, following the course of the Red 
River to the 100° of west longitude, thence north to 
the 36° 30' of north latitude, thence west to the 103° of west 
longitude, thence north to the place of beginning. 

The first settlement was made at Oklahoma City, 
at twelve o'clock, noon, April 22, 1889, and during that af- 
ternoon nearly every quarter section in Oklahoma Territory 
was occupied. 

Oklahoma is a Choctaw word signifying "red people", 
"red town", "red region", etc., oMa^ ''city, town, tribe, 
settlement," etc., homa, Jiumma or vmma, "red". 

The word is said to also mean "Beautiful Land." 

The capital is Guthrie. The city was founded April 

Cherokee Indians as a bunting- outlet from their home i-es(!rvation in the east- 
ern part of the Territory to the 100th meridian, then the western 
boundary of the United States in that latitude. There were over 
8,000,(;00 acres in this tract, but the Government considered all this country 
a part of the "Great American Desert," and, conseiiuently worthless, so it 
readily gave the Cherokeesthe rijrht to use the land tor hunting- i)urposes for- 
ever. In 1833 Washington Irving visited this tract of land, and describes .-i 
buffalo and wild horse hunt there in his book entitled "A Tour on the Prair- 
ies," painting- in most glowing- terms the beauty of the land and predii.-ting- for 
it a future even beyond the imagination of tlie most ardent boomer of later 
days. De.-ig-nated in the treaty of 1833 as the Cherokee outlet, this land later 
became known as the Cherokee strip because of its shape. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES ]j!,3 

•l-l, 1881), and was named after Jndge Guthrie of To]>eka, 
Kansas, by tbe A. T. & S. F. K. R., wliicli had a station 
there before the opening of tlie. Territory. 

Oklahoma is popularly known as the "Home I. ami"'. 

The motto on the Territorial Seal is Labor omnid rinrit, 
'••liabor concjuers everything.'"' 




(tijkat tSEAi. OK Oklahoma TKRurroin'. 

No Man's Land. — "So much has been said about the 
strip of public land known variously as the 'Neutral Strip,' 
'Public Land Strip', or 'No JMan's Land,' that it becomes a 
matter of interest to learn how this body of land, one-tifth 
larger than the State of Connecticut, for a while was with- 
out law, government or any restraint except that which pub- 
lic opinion upheld. For a few years this area, now a part of 
Oklahoma Territory, (Beaver county) was as much beyoiul 
the jurisdiction of statutory law of the United States as 
though it were a jiart of Central Africa. Let us see how 
this conditon of affairs came about.* 

'•Formerly No Man's Land was a part of Mexico; but 
when the Texans threw off the Mexican yoke and established 
the Republic of Texas, this strij) was a part of the new re- 
]>ublic; it was never, however, a part of the state of Texas. 
The Indian Territory was formed in 18.^5-87, and its western 
limit was then the western limit of the United States, but it 



* Seven good authorities formerly plafed the "Futilic Land Strip" tin their 
ni;ips !ii« ij part of Indian Tfrritoi-v. It will he seen that this wat< iiioorrtiot. 



lU HIISTOKICAL AND GEOGRAFIIKJAL 

should be remembered that the western boundary of the 
United States was the 100th meridian; beyond that meridian 
the territory belonged to Mexico, and it so remained as Mex- 
ican territory until the close of the Mexican War. When 
the Indian Territory was formed it provided that the 'outlet 
of the Cherokee nation should be a free and unmolested 
ground reaching to the western boundary of the United 
States'; but as the territory of the United States extended 
only to the 100th meridian, the boundary of the Cherokee 
nation could not extend beyond it. This fixed the western 
boundary of the Indian Territory, and the eastern boun lary 
of No Man's Land. 

"With the admission of Texas to the United States 
there was a certain difficulty to avoid. The line north of 
which slavery was not permitted to exist was the ]>arallel 
36^ 30', Avhile the northern boundary of Texas extended to 
the 37th parallel. Rather than to lose the privilege of slave- 
holding, Texas voluntarily ceded to the United States all 
land north of 36° 30'. This fixed the southern boundary of 
No Man's Land. 

"But at this time all the territory north and west of 
Texas was unorganized, and embraced a very wide area. 
When, in 1854, the Kansas and Nebraska bill came up be- 
fore the United States Senate, it was proposed to make the 
parallel of 36° 30' the southern boundary of Kansas, b;it 
Senator Stephen A. Douglas, under tlie supj)Osition that the 
lOOtli meridian was not the treaty liuiit of the Indian Terri- 
tory, secured an amendment to the bill, making the parallel 
of 37° the southern limit of Kansas, in order not to de[)rive 
the Cherokees of land which it was supposed belonged to 
them. So a part of the northern boundary of No Man's 
Land was fixed; and when Colorado Territory was furmed, 
its southern limit of 37 fixed the rest of the boundary. 
Following closely upon this, the Territory of New Mexico 
was organized, and its eastern limit of tlie l(t3d meridiun 
fixed the western boundary of the neutral Strip. 

"And thus a large tract of land remained for several 
years entirely without the pale of law, ior the jurisdiction 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES. U5 



of each United States court is limited by political boundaries, 
and no court can take cognizance of crime beyond its juris- 
diction. Therefore No Man's Land with its population of 
10,000 was without protection of life and property except 
that which was offered by the revolver and the Winchester 
ritle, until statutes were enacted to meet the difficulty. The 
final annexation of the area to Oklahoma Territory put an 
end to future troubles." — Re<.hraif''s Mannal of Geography. 

District of Columbia. — With the organization of 
the Government it became necessary that Congress should 
have a permanent home. The Constitution empowered Con- 
gress "to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatso- 
ever over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as 
may, by cession of particular States, and the acceptance of 
Congress, become the seat of government of the United 
States." All agreed that it should be centrally located, but 
sectional jealousies made the choice of a place a difficult one. 

It is said that during the first session of Congress, the 
Federalists, in consideration of two votes by Virginia mem- 
l)erK to carry an important financial measure, voted that, af- 
ter remaining ten years in Philadelphia, the seat of the gov- 
ernment should be permanently located on the Potomac. 

The requisite tei-ritory was offered to the United States 
for the purpose by the State of Maryland, December 28, 
IVSS, and by the State of Virginia, December 3, 1789, and 
located by proclamation of President Washington, March 
30, 1791. partly in Maryland aiul partly in Virginia. 

Nearly one-half of the original District, which was ten 
miles square, was on the Virginia side of the Potomac, but the 
people of Alexandria County, — the Virginia portion, — were 
dissatisfied, and, by Act of Congress July 9, 1S40, this |»or- 
tion of the original District was retroceded to the State of 
Virginia, leaving its present area exactly 09.245 square 
miles, usually given as 70 square miles. 

* "Though the remaining portion of the District has 
always been under the exclusive authority of Congress, it has 
passed through many changes in the manner of its govern- 

* The Youth's Compnnion, Nov. 13. ISiK). 



H6 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPIIKJAL 

nient. 

"In 180'2 Washington ''.vas incorporated as a city, with 
a mayor annually a])pointe(l by the President, and with a 
city council, at first wholly ai)pointed by the President, and 
afterward in part elected by the people. The affairs of the 
remainder* of the District were administered by a body called 
the 'Levy Court.' 

"In 1871 these functions were abolished, and upon the 
District was conferred a sort of Territorial government, with 
a governor appointed by the President, a legislative assem- 
bly and a delegate in Congress. 

"But in three years this form of government ])roved so 
unsatisfactory that it was abolished; and finally, in 1878, tiie 
present local government of the District was cstablisiicd. 
The affairs of the District are now administered hy a board 
of three commissioners, all a})pointed by the President, one 
of whom must be an officer of the engineer corjts of the Un- 
ited States Army. 

"The District coi.tains the cities of Washington and 
Georgetown and a number of villages, but neither of the 
cities nor any one of the villages has an independent muni- 
cipal existence. All are uiider the same local government, 
and their names have no more than a toj)ographical signifi- 
cance. 

"There is a system of courts substantially like that of 
States in the Union, the judges of which are ai)pointed by 
the President. 

"The District derives its revenues from taxes levied on 
persons and propei'ty, as taxes are laid in other States and 
communities, and from appropriations by Congress to the 
amount of one-half of the total annual expenses of the Dis- 
trict. 

"There are no elections in the District of Colutnbia. 
The people have never had a vote for national ofiicei's, but at 
one time they did vote for municipal officers and on certain 
local matters. The establishment of the present form of 
government deprived them of even that privilege." 

For the derivation of Columbia see Columbia, South 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATED U7 



Carolina. 

The capital (.-ity of the United States is Wasihnctox. 
The capital went under the name of Fkdeuai. Citv till Sep- 
tember 9, IVOI, when the name was changed to Washington, 
in honor of President George Washington. The name of 
the District was given at the same time. 

["We have agreed that the Federal District shall he 
called the Territory of Cohimbia, and the Federal City, the 
City of Washington." — From letter of the orlyinal Coinmis- 
siojiers, dated September 9, 179 J.] 

The word federal as applied to our government and con- 
stitution is from the French word Feleraliste, derived from 
hsitin fjedifs, federis; a covenant, a league. 

The following cities have figured as the capitals of the 
United States: 

Philadelphia, from September .3, 17 74, until December, 
17 70; Baltimore, from Dec. 20, 17 76, to March, 1777; Phil- 
adelphia, from March 4, 1777, to September, 1777; Lan- 
caster, Pa., from September '2 7, 1777, to September 30, 
1777; York, Pa. , from September 30, 1777, to Jidy, 1778; 
Philadelphia, from July 2, 1778, to June 30, 1783; Prince- 
ton, N. J., from June 30, 1783, tu November 20, 1783; An- 
napolis, Md., from November, 1783, to November, 1784; 
Trenton, N. J., from November, 1784, to January, 178.'); 
New York, from Jan. 11, 1785, to 17J)0, when the seat of 
government was changed to Philadelpliia, where it remained 
until 1800, when it was finally removed to Washington. 

The national capitol and the grounds represent a cash 
outlay of almost 1:20,000,000. 

The District of Alaska. — Alaska is a peninsula in 
the northwestern ])art of North America. 

Though the Zaltieri map of 15(j{i, and those subsequent, 
showed the separation of America and Asia, there was no 
definite knowledge as to the width of the separation until 
1728, when Vitus Bering, a Danish luivigator, in theRuss-ian 
service, is said to have saileil through the strait which bears 
his name. It is now l)elieved, however, that Bering did not 
reach the strait to which he gave his name, but that the cape 



us HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

which he rounded was to the south of the real East Cape, in 
latitude 66°, 

The connection of the peninsula with the continent was 
left to be ascertained by Captain James Cook in his explora- 
tions in search of an arctic passage, (ITVG — 1779). 

In 1732 a Russian fleet being driven from the coast of 
Russia, landed in Alaska, and annexed it to the Russian 
Empire, 

In 1741, Bering sailed in from Okhotsk toward the 
American continent, and sighting land about 58^° nortli lat- 
itude, he followed the coast northward for some distance. 
On July 18, of the same year, he discovered the Rocky 
range of mountains, the crowning peak of which is Mt. St. 
Elias. 

It is by virtue of these events that Russia acquired her 
possessions in America. 

In 1867, William H. Seward, then Secretary of State, 
induced Congress to purchase Alaska of the Russian Govern- 
ment. The chief object of the purchase was to extend our 
power on the Pacific coast. 

The treaty of purchase was signed on March 30, 1867, 
and proclaimed June 20, 1867. The amount paid to the 
Russian Government was |^7, 200,000, in gold. The area of 
Alaska is 577,390 square miles, being equal to one-sixth of 
the United States, or nearly twelve states the size of New 
York. 

The eastern boundary of Alaska runs from latitude 54^^ 
40'* due north along Portland Channel to the juncture of 
parallel 56° with the shore, thence along the summit of the 
mountains skirting the coast to the 141st meridian, thence 
along that meridian to the Arctic Ocean. 

The purchase of Alaska was thought by many, at the 
time, to be a very foolish piece of diplomacy, and Alaska 
was satirically termed the "Refrigerator of the United 
States." But Alaska has proven to be a valuable addition 
to our territory, the seal trade alone amounting to over 

*If the United States had sustained its 54 dcfrrees 40 minutes claim with 
England in settling the Oregon question she would now have possessed the 
entire Pacific coast north of Mexico. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES U9 

!8?2,000,()00 |ier aiiiiuiu. It is valiialdo, also, for furs, forests 
and tisli. 

The seals from nearly the (>iitire Bering Sea congregate 
every summer, in hundreds of thousands, upon the two little 
Pribilof Islands, ealleii St. George's and St. Paul's, which 
are in latitude 5()- north, and al)()ut three hundred miles 
from the Alaska sliore. 

The government by Act of Congress, approveil July 1, 
1870, authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to lease the 
right to engage in the business of taking fur-seals in the 
Pribilof Islands. A twenty years lease dating from May 1, 
1870, was finally executed in August of that year to the 
Alaska Commercial Company of San Francisco. Under its 
provisions this company paid to the United States the sum 
of fifty thousand dollars annually; also a revenue tax of two 
dollars, and a preiiiium of sixty-two and a half cents, for 
each fur-seal skin taken and shipped by them; and fifty-five 
cents per gallon for each gallon of oil sold. 

The amount paid the government by the Alaska Com- 
mercial Company under the terms of this contract was three 
hundred and seventeen thousand dollars yearly, or about four 
and a half |»er cent per annum of the price paid for Alaska. 

The company was permitted to kill one hundred thous- 
and seals a year, during a specified season. When the com- 
pany assumed control of the fisheries, the seal on the Pribilof 
Islands had become greatly reduced in numbers, and were 
likely soon to be exterminated. But under the enforcement 
of these wise regulations the number of seals has increased 
from one million to five millions, as man-y as the Islands 
will sustain. 

The contract with the Alaska Commercial Company ex- 
pired early in 1890, and a new lease between the United 
States and the North American Commercial company was 
granted March 12, 1890, by which said company is granted 
the exclusive right to take fur-seals in the Pribilof Islands 
in Alaska, for a ])eriod of twenty years. Under the terms 
of the lease the company is to pay to the government an an- 
nual rental of sixtv thousand dollars, a revenue tax of two 



150 HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAFUliJAL 

dollars, and a bonus of seven dollars and sixty-two and a half 
cents on each skin shipped from the Islands. 

Under the contract, the Secretary of the Treasury may 
make such limitation as to the number of seals to be killed 
as he shall judge necessary under the law for the preserva- 
tion of the fisheries. The number which the company is 
permitted to take during the present year (1894) is limited 
to twenty thousand skins. 

"The peninsula was known to the Russian explorers as 
Al-ay-es-ka, the name has since been changed through Alhis- 
ka, Alaksa, Alashka to its present form. When purchased 
by the United States, the names of Walrussia, American Si- 
beria, Zero Islands and Polario were suggested, but through 
the proposal of Charles Sumner, he stating it to be the name 
by which the peninsular Islands were designated to Caj)tain 
Cook, and translated as meaning 'the great land.' " — Tovyn- 
sencVs U. A'. 

This name was originally applied only to the narrow 
peninsula situated at the southwest extremity of the Alaska 
Territory. It is a corruption of alakshak, twi Inland^ conti- 
tient, a term of the Eastern dialects of the Ale-ut language. 
The name of Unalaska Island contains the same word, for 
it is contracted from angun alakshak, "to the west of the 
mainland." Angun, loest, also enters into the composition 
of Unangun, a division of the Ale-ut people, \vhich is reduc- 
ible to un, ptoplti^ and angun, V'CSt. (From notes by Ivan 
Petroflf.) — Science, New Series, Vol. I. No. 8. 

Sitka, formerly called New Archangel, is the caj)ital, 
and chief settlement. The name is taken from a tribe of 
Indians, the Sitkyans. 



On i)age 69, Wheeling is given as the capital of West 
Virginia. The present capital is Charleston. In 18V2 the 
capital was moved from Wheeling to Charleston; in 1875 it 
was moved back to Wheeling, and in 1885, by a vote of the 
people of the State it was permanently located at Charleston. 

CiiARi.ESTON was originally known as "Clendenin's Set- 



Mi;SCELLAiVy OF THE UNITED t>TATE^ lul 

tlenient" and "The Town at the mouth of the Elk." 
December 19, 1794, the name of Charlestov')i was fixed by 
the Virginia Legishiture, but from some unknown cause, 
through common consent it was changed to Charleston. 
The name was originally given by George Clendenin, its 
founder, in lioiior of his father, Charles. — Toirnse)i(r s TJ. jS. 




mi 






'1^0 



lf=^ll 



^_ 



ff.^m^ 



APPENDIX. 



APPRNDIX. 



■GERRYMANDERING." 

From pp. 216, 217 of Fiske's Civil, Government in the I'nited States 
In the composition of the House of Representatives the 
state legislatures play a very important part. For the pur- 
poses of the election a state is divided into districts corres- 
ponding to the number of representatives the state is entitled 




to send to congress. These electoral districts are marked 
out by the legislature, and the division is apt to be made by 
the preponderating ]»arty with an unfairness that is at once 
shameful and ridiculous. The aim, of course, is to lav out 



156 IIISTOMICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

the districts "as to secure in the greatest possible number of 
tliem a majority for the l)arty which conducts tlie operation. 
Tliis is done sometimes by throwing the greatest possible 
number of hostile voters into a district which is anyhow cer- 
taiu to be hostile, sometimes by adding to a district where 
parties are equally divided some place in which the majority 
of friendly voters is sutticient to turn the scale. There is a 
district in Mississi})pi (the so-called Shoe String district) ^.'iO 
miles long by 30 broad, and another in Pennsylvania re-*em- 

bling a dumb-bell In Missouri a district has been 

contrived longer, if measured along its windings, than the 
state itself, into which as large a numljcr as pos5il)le of the 
negro voters have been thrown."* This trick is called 'gerry- 
mandering," from Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, who was 
vice-president of the United States from 1813 to 1817. It 
seems to have been first devised in 1788 by the enemies of 
the Federal Constitution in Virginia, in order to prevent the 
election of James Madison to the first Congress, and fortu- 
nately it was unsuccessful. f It was introduced some years 
afterward into Massachusetts. In 1812, while Gerry was 
governor of that state, the Republican legislature redistrib- 
uted the districts in such wise that the shapes of the towns 
forming a single district in ICssex county gave tlie district a 
somewhat dragon like contour. This was indicated ui)on a 
map of Massachusetts wdiich Benjamin Russell, an ardent 
Federalist and editor of the "Centinel," hung up over the 
desk in his office. The celebrated painter, Gill)ert Stuart, 
coming into the oftice one day and observing the uncouth 
figure, added with his pencil a head, wings, and claws, and 
exclaimed, "That will do for a salamanderl" "Better say a 
Gerrymander!" growled the editor; and the outlandish name, 
thus duly coined soon came into general currency.]; 

* Bryce, American Commonweai-th, \i)l. i. p. Vz\. 

t Tyler's Patkic Henrt, p. 313. 

X Winsoi's Memohial History of Boston, vol. iii. p. 212; sec also Bryee, 
loc. cit. 'I'he word is sometimes incorrectly pronounced -'jerrymander." Mr. 
Winsor observes that the back line of the creature's body forms a pr4>!ile car- 
icature of Gerry's face, with the nose at .\fiddlei>>n. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES lol 



AREA AND POPULATION OF THE STATES AND 

TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 

WITH THE POPULTAION OF 

THEIR CAPITALS. 

(Compiled from U. S. Census of 1890.) 



State. 



Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

OdIoi- ido 

Connecticnt 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Inwa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland. . . . 
Massachusetts . . 

Michijran 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Monrana . . 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New Hampshire.. 

New Jersey 

N ew York 

North (Carolina . .. 
North Dakota .. 

Ohio 

oreji-on 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island .. 

South (^arolina . .. 

South Dakota 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah 

Vermont 

Virjiinia 

Washintrton 

West Viririnia .. . 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming- 

Alaska 

Arizona 

Dlst. of Columbia 
Indian Territory . 

New Mexico 

t:Oklahoma 

1 Delaware, Rar- 
X a tan and New 

' York Bays 

f Total. United 
J States, inclusive 
1 of Alaska and 
I IndianTerritory 



Area in 
Sq. 



Mi. 



. r>5 

.158 

.103 

.4 

'. 5S 
. . 5!) 
.Si 
. . 5t) 

. m 

. n(i 

..40 
. 48 
. . :i3 

. .8 

..58 

..83 

4() 

. . r.» 

.140 



.110 



, .1 250 



..30 
..79 
..42 
.265 
..84 
...9 



..113 



..40 
.123 
..39 



720 



.3 (102 !li)t) 



Population. 



.. 1 513 01', 
.. 1 128 171) 
. . I 208 13(1 
....412 198 
.... 740 ;;5S 
. ... 11)8 4' '3 
...391 423 
. . 1 837 35;-; 
84 ;;8r, 

. 3 826 ;;51 
. . 2 192 404 
. 1 911 8;t(i 
. 1 427 OOti 
. . 1 8.-)8 63.") 
. 1 118 .'187 
. . . . 601 0K6 
.. 1 042 3<<(i 
. . 2 23H fAH 
. . 2 093 889 
.. 1 301 8;. 6 
. . 1 289 (iOO 
.. 2 679 184 
. . 133 159 
.. 1 C.58 910 

45 761 

. . . . 376 5"0 
. . 1 444 933 
. . 5 997 853 
. 1 617 947 
.... 182 719 
. . 3 672 316 
. . 313 767 
. . 5 2.58 014 

....345 506 

.. 1 1.51 1(9 

. . . . 328 808 
. . 1 767 518 
. . 2 235 523 
. . . 207 '.05 
. . . . 333 422 
. . 1 655 9S0 
. . . . 349 3(10 
. . . . 762 794 
. . 1 686 880 

()0 705 

. . . .31 795 

59 620 

. . . . 230 392 
.. 180 182 
....Va 593 
61 834 



Capital. 



Montgomery . . 
Little Uock".... 
Sacramento . . . 

Deliver 

Hartford .. .. 

Dover 

Tallahassee 

Atlama 

Boise City 

Sprinyficld 

hidiinapolis... 

Des Moines 

Topek;t 

Frankfort 

Baton Kouge 

AugUNta 

Annapolis 

Boston 

Laos' i US' 

Saint I'aul . 

•laoksim 

Jefferson City 

Helena 

Lincnln .... 
Carson City . . . 
Concord 

Trenton 

Albany 

Kaleigh. 

Bismarck 

Columbus . 
*Salem . .. . 

Harrisburg- 

( Providence. . 

/ Newport 

( olumbia 

I'ierre 

Nashville 

Austin 

Salt Lake City. 
JMontpelier . . 

Hiehmond 

Olyinpia 

Charleston ... 

Madison 

Chevenne . 

Sitka 

I'hfvni.x 

Washington .. . 

tTahiequah 

Santa Fe 

tfeluthrie 



62 982 244 



Population. 



..21 883 
..25 874 
..26 386 
.106 713 
. 53 230 
. .3 061 
...2 934 
..()5 .533 
...2 311 
. 24 963 
.105 436 

.50 093 
..31 007 
. . . 7 892 
..10 478 
..10 .527 
.. .7 604 
.448 477 

13 102 
.i.33 150 
. .5 920 
...6 743 
..13 834 
. ..55 1.54 
...3 9,50 
..17 004 
...57 4.58 
. .94 923 
..13 678 
...3 186 
..88 150 
..5 728 
..39 385 



.132 146 
..19 4.57 
. 15 353 
. . 3 2:35 
..76 168 
..14 575 
..44 843 
. .4 160 
..81 3!'8 
...4 698 
. . 6 743 
..13 426 
-.11 690 
...1 190 

.3 ira 

.230 393 
...1 200 
...6 185 

. . .3 788 



* The population of Salem was not separately returned, and the figures 
gi\en are the total of the returns made for Salem precinct, coextensive with 
Salem city: East Salem precinct, incluiling part of Salem city; North Salem 



158 JIISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 

THE TEN LARGEST CITIES IN THE 
UNITED STATES. 

Population Population 

CITIES: in 1880. in 1890. 

1. New York, N. Y 1,205,299 1,51.5,301. 

2. Chicago, 111 503,159 1,099,850. 

3. Philadelphia, Pa 847,170 1,046,964.. 

4. Brooklyn, N. Y 566,663 806,343. 

5. St. Louis, Mo 350,518 451,770. 

6. Boston, Mass 369,842 448,477. 

7. Baltimore, Md 382,313 434,439. 

8. San Francisco, Cal. . . . 233,959 298,997. 

9. Cincinnati, 255,139 296,908. 

10. Cleveland, 160,146 261,353. 

Accordiuii to the census of 1890 there are 3,715 places 
in the United States of 1,000 inhabitants or niure; 1,522 
places having a population of 2,500 or more; 905 places hav- 
ing a population of 4,000 or more; 559 places having a popu- 
lation of 6,000 or more; 44S places having a population of 
8,000 or more; 124 places having a population of 25,000 or 
more; 58 places having a population of 50,000 or more; 28 
places having a population of 100,000 or more; 7 places hav- 
ing a population of 400,000 or more; 3 places having a pop- 
ulation of 1,000,000 or more. Thirty-three per cent, of 
total population of United States is in cities of over 6,000 
inhabitants. 



preciuct, including- part of SaJem city; South Salem precinct, inclu'ling part 

of Salem city. 

t Tahliquah has formerly been marked on maps as the capital of Indian 
Territory. RecRit authorities mark Muscogee as ihe capital, for the reason 
that there is an Indian agent at Musc;gee in charge of what is known as "Un- 
ion Agency," which comprises The Five Civilized Tribes. The nlations of this 
ao-ent to the several tribes a.-e regulated by the different treaties and by orders 
from the Secretary of the Interior. The Judge or the United States Court, the 
Uniied States marshall, the United States district attorney, and other United 
States officials in the Territory reside at Muscogee. But. in fa<;t, Indian Ter- 
ritory has no capital, as it has no organized Territorial government. Each 
nation, however, has its chief town or capital: viz: Cherokee Nation, Tahle- 
quah; Chickasaw Nation, Tishomingo; Choctaw Nation, Tuskahoma; Creek 
Nation. Okonuilgee; Seminole Nation, Wewoka. 

It is difficult to determine the population of places in the Indian Tt-rritory, 
owing to the fact that there are no town lines or any of the ordinary features 
of orL'anizcd communities, there being no law to incorpoi-atc town-sites. The 
population of Tahlequah, as given, is as near as it is possible for the Census 
office to determine. The population of Muscogee is 1,200. 

t Oklahomaiiow (January 1, 189.5,) has an estimated population of 350,000 
and Gulhrie. the capital, a population of 9,000. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES 



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160 III^TOltlCAL ANU GEOGRAFHliJAL 

LENGTH OF THE COAST LINE OF THE 
UNITED STATES. 

^riie Coast and Geodetic Survey has recently furnished 
this statement of the length in statute miles of the general 
seacoast of the Atlantic, Gulf, Pacilic, and Alaskan waters; 
and also the coas-tline in statute miles, of the same coasts, 
including islands, bays, rivers, etc., to the head of tide water: 
General sea-coasts — Atlantic ocean, 2,043 miles; Gulf of Mex- 
ico, 1,852 miles; Pacific Ocean, 1,8]0 miles; Alaska, 4,650 
miles. Including islands, bays, and rivers to the head of 
tide water, the statement was: Atlantic Ocean, 36,516 miles; 
Gulf of Mexico, 19,143 miles; Pacific Ocean, 8,900 miles; 
Alaska, 26,376 miles; a total of 90,935 miles. 



SIZE OF OUR GREAT LAKES. 

The latest measurements of uur fresh water seas are 
given as follows: 

Lake Superior. — The greatest length is 335 miles; great- 
est breadth, 160 miles; mean depth, 688 feet; elevation, 627 
feet; area, 82,000 square miles. 

Lake 3Iichigan. — The greatest length is 300 miles, great- 
est breadth, 168 miles; mean depth, 696 feet; elevation, 606 
feet; area, 2 3,000 square miles. 

Lake Hitron. — The greatest length is 100 miles; great- 
est breadth, 169 miles; mean depth, 600 feet; elevation, 274 
feet; area, 20,000 square miles. 

Lake Erie. — The greatest length is 250 miles; greatest 
breadth, 80 miles; mean depth, 84 feet; elevation, 555 feet; 
area, 6,000 square miles. 

Lake Ontario.- — The greatest length is 80 miles; great- 
est breadth, 65 miles; mean depth, 500 feet; elevation, 261 
feet; area, 6,000 square miles. 

The length of all five is 1,165 miles; covering an area of 
more than 135,000 square miles. 

Erie is the only lake of the chain, having any current, 
being shallow compared with the others; some one notes, 
"The surplus waters poured from the vast /y(/su/,s* of Su|)erior, 
Michigan and Huron, flowing across 1\\q plate of Erie, into 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES 101 



the deep hoxcl of Ontario." 

The term "Great Lakes," is a substitute for "river," 
it being claimed that they are widenings of the St. Lawrence 
River, this stream originating at the source of the now St. 
Louis River (western end of Lake Superior) and flowing for 
2,100 miles to the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Gaspe. — (See 
"Lake" in "Glossary of Geographical Names" in Town- 
send' s V. S.) 



NICKNAMES OF 

Albany, N. Y., 
Allegheny, Pa., 
Atlanta, Ga., 
Baltimore, Md., 

Bangor, Me. , 
Boston, Mass., 



Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Buffalo, N. Y. 
Burlington, Vt. 
Burlington, la. 
Cambridge, Mass. 
Chicago, 111. 



Charleston, S. C. 
Cincinnati, ()., 



Cleveland, O., 
Columbus, ()., 



CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Politicana. 

Twin City. 

Gate City. 

Oriole City. 

Monumental City. 

Lumber City. 

Bean Town. 

Puritan City. 

Athens of America. 

Hub of the Universe. 

City of Notions. 

Literary P^mporinm.- 

City of Churches. 

Queen of the' Lakes. 

Queen City of Vermont. 

Orchard City. 

University City. 

Garden City. 

Windy City. 

Prairie City. 

Palmetto City. 

City of the Earthcjuake. 

Queen City of the West. 

Paris of America. 

Porkopolis. 

Forest City. 

Hailroadia. 



162 HISTORICAL AND GEOGMAFHICAL 



Denver, Col. 

Detroit, Midi. 

Dulutb, Minn. 

Galveston, Tex. 
Hannibal, Mo. 
Harrisburg, Pa. 
Hartford, Conn. 
Indianapolis, Ind. 
Jacksonville, Fla. 
Jersey City, N.J. 
Kansas City, Mo. 
Lafayette, Ind. 
Leavenworth, Kan. 
Louisville, Ky. 
Lowell, Mass. 
Madison, Wis. 
Manchester, N. H. 
MacGregor, la. 
Memphis, Tenn. 
Middletown, Conn. 
Milwaukee, Wis. 

11 11 

Minneapolis, Minn. 
Mobile, Ala. 
Nashville, Tenn. 
Newark, N. J. 
New Haven, Conn. 

11 11 

New Orleans, La. 
Newport, R. L 
New York, N. Y. 



Peoria, HI. 
Philadelphia, Pa. 



Queen City. 
City of the Plains. 
City of the Straits. 
Zenith City of the Inland 
Saltless !Sea. 
Texas' Focus. 
Bluff City. 
Pivotal. 
Insurance City. 
Railroad City. 
Gate City of the South. 
Terminal-towr.. 
Mushroomopolis. 
Star City. 
Cottonwood City. 
Fall City. 
City of Si)indles. 
Lake City. 

Queen City of N. Hampshire 
Pocket City. 
Bluff City. 
Forest City. 
Cream City. 

City of Beer and Bricks. 
City of Flour and Sawdust. 
Shell City. 
City of Rocks. 
Birmingham of America. 
Queen City of New England. 
City of Elms. 
Crescent City. 
Eden of America. 
Metropolis of America. 
Empire City. 
Gotham. 

Commercial Emporium. 
Whiskeytown. 
Quaker City. 



MISCELLANY OF THE UNITED STATES 163 



Philadelphia, Pa. 

55 55 

Pittsburg, Pa. 

5 5 5 5 

Portlaud, Me. 

55 55 

Providence, R. I. 



Quincy, 111. 
Raleigh, N. C. 
Richmond, Va. 



Richmc»nd, Ind. 
Rochester, N. Y. 

55 55 

Sacramento, Cal. 
St. Louis, Mo. 
St. Paul, Minn. 
Salt Lake City, Utah, 
San Francisco, Cal. 

55 55 

Savannah, Ga. 

55 55 

Sheboygan, Wis. 
Springfield, III. 
Tacoma, Wash. 
Toledo, O.- 
Troy, N. Y. 
Vicksburg, Miss. 
Washington, D. C. 

5 5 55 

Wheeling, W. Va. 
Worcester, Mass. 
Xenia, O. 



City of Homes. 

City of Brotherly Love. 

Centennial City. 

Smoke City. 

Iron City. 

Forest City. 

Hill City. ' 

Roger Williams' City. 

City of Jewelry. [City. 

Perry Davis' Pain Killer 

Gem City. 

City of Oaks. 

Cockade City. 

Tobacco City. 

Modern Rome. 

Quaker (/ity of the West. 

Aqueduct City. 
■ Flour City. 

Miner's Pocketbook. 

Mound City. 

North Star City. 

Mormon City. 

Golden Gate City. 

Frisco. 

Forest City of the South. 

Land of the Live Oak. 

Evergreen City. 

Flower City. 

City of Destiny. 

Corn City. 

Laundry-ville. 

Key City. 
- City of Magnificent Distances 

Federal City. 

Nail City. 

Heart of the Commonwealth. 

Twin City. 



16 h HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL 



LENGTH OF A DEGREE OF LONCilTUDE. 

MILES. 

At the equator 6i). 164 



At 5° 68.901 

At 10 68.117 

At 15 66.821 

At 20 65.014 

At 25 62. 7 18 

At HO 59.947 

At 35 56.714 

At 40 53.053 

At 45 48.982 



MILES. 

At 50^^. 44.545 

At 55 39.760 

At 60 34.669 

At 65 29.310 

At 70 23.725 

At 75 17.957 

At 80 12.049 

At 85 6.048 

At 89 1.211 

At 90 0.000 



The distance around the world on anj' parallel may he 
found by multiijlying the length of a degree of longitude on 
the given parallel by 360. 



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